If There Be Thorns
by E. Griffin
Summary: After a chance encounter in the market place, Sadira finds an apprentice in a young girl named Aini. But things don’t go as planned when during one of her first lessons, Aini unleashes a sand storm into the garden of Arbutus. New: Ch.15
1. The Beginning

**If There Be Thorns**

**By:** Maggie Griffin

**Summary:** After a chance encounter in the market place, Sadira takes it upon herself to form an apprentice in a young girl named Aini. But things don't go as planned when during one of her first lessons, Aini unleashes a sand storm into the garden of Arbutus

**Rating:** PG-13 (for mild swearing and mild suggestive content wink wink)

**Genre:** Romance/Action/Adventure

NOTE: Aini is, in fact, eighteen years old. Some of you have asked and she is simply very child-like and inexperienced, making her seem far younger than she actually is.

--

Beneath the vast desert that spread around the prosperous city of Agrabah, an all-together different world dwelled. Sole witness to this world, the young woman who stood in the caverns of the forgotten 'Witches of the Sand' concentrated on the words before her, layed out so plainly on ancient scripture, yet sometimes so difficult to understand.

"Come on, sand into glass, how difficult could it be?" Sadira sighed in exasperation. Truth was, she was rather tired of having to wade through the sand floor in the caverns below the desert. Having spent more time there then anywhere else, she would have liked to be able to at least walk comfortably. "A nice glass floor, that's all I ask," she pleaded with the unsympathetic tome before her.

With a heavy sigh, Sadira moved away from her work, wiping her eyes to clear her blurred vision.

"This witch stuff is getting more and more complicated!" She waved her hand in the air, producing a chair from the sand scattered around her. It solidified just in time to catch her collapsing backwards into it. For a moment, Sadira closed her eyes and relaxed, trying to sort out through the muddle that her mind had become in the last few hours. Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she reared up out of her seat.

"_Oh No!_" She yelped, making a bee-line for the exit, "_I forgot!"_ Taking the stairs two at a time, she emerged from the caverns below into the harsh sunlight of the Arabian desert, instantly blinded. She wasted no time, realizing she had been expected for some time now. It was typical of her, of course, this business of becoming so absorbed in knowledge that hours could fly by without her raising her eyes from the tomes even once. Sadira shook her head, trying to level out her breathing as she ran.

Gasping for breath, she recalled the meeting that had prompted her present panic. Recalled Aladdin approaching her in the crowded marketplace, aloof and mysterious. His face, usually so easy to read, betrayed none of his true intentions as he had extended an invitation to the palace on behalf of himself and Princess Jasmine, playing the dumb messenger to her inquisitiveness. For a fleeting moment, Sadira hoped that he had changed his mind about her, but she quickly forced such thoughts from her mind.

_What am I thinking anyway?_ She chastised herself. _Jasmine and I are friends now, and I wouldn't do that to her. Not even if I did get the chance!_ She felt a rush of guild for even considering that Aladdin had any ulterior motive under his hat besides what was probably a friendly get-together. _Besides, when would he ever choose someone like me over someone like her? _She reminded herself sadly. It hurt, of course, deep inside. Still, she comforted herself with the knowledge that in the end, she was doing the right thing by everyone.

By the time Sadira arrived in Agrabah, the sun had began to set, reminding her that she really had to start making more of an effort to get return to civilization. It was becoming a bad habit, the way she could spend hours upon hours pouring over the scrolls and tomes to be found in the vaults of the catacombs.

Soon, Sadira found herself running through the marketplace, doing her best to avoid collision with anyone or anything in the way. Namely fruit stands, merchants, and palace guards.

Luck it seemed, was not with her.

As she rounded a corner, she felt herself connect hard against something, and briefly found herself wondering if she had run into a wall. This wall however, seemed to cry out and fall backwards, mimicking Sadira's own descent.

After a moment of recovering from her small calamity, Sadira looked up and realized that the wall was actually a young girl. She looked to be no older than Sadira herself, perhaps eighteen at most, and was staring back at her with large, frightened green eyes. Still, her face and countenance gave off a distinctly child-like aura.

What first caught her attention, however, was the girl's heavy stutter.

"Oh...s-sorry, I'm so so-sorry!" The girl apologized. Her voice was soft and shy, strained from nerves and possessing a child-like, undeveloped tone to it. This effect was further increased by her lips, which shook slightly as she spoke, giving the illusion that she was constantly pouting.

Sadira was the first to stand, brushing dirt and sand off her legs as she did.

"Hey, don't worry about it! It was my fault, I should have been looking while running!" Sadira grinned, and extended a hand to the girl, who, instead of taking it, continued to stare up at her with the same wide-eyed expression. After this moment of hesitation, the girl reached up and took Sadira's hand, letting the older girl pull her up.

Sadira was surprised to find the girl was even shorter than she was, a fact that did not escape her, having been self-conscious of her own rather small stature for some time in the past. But the girl standing timidly before her looked to be no taller than five feet.

"Th...thank you!" The girl stammered again, and quickly brushed the dirt from her dark green robe. After a bit of speculation, Sadira determined that the girl was clearly not palace material. Another one of Agrabah's poorer children, no doubt. The idea made Sadira somewhat bitter, recalling her own past as a homeless girl growing up on the streets of Agrabah. Was the child before her of similar origin? She wondered. Certainly it appeared so. She knew that look, the look in her eyes, the fear and uncertainty. You never knew who was out to get you, who could hurt you in any number of ways for any number of reasons. She felt a pang of sympathy. To a street mouse like Sadira, strangers had ushered both hope and fear. She resolved then, that if this was the case, she would try to be one of those people that didn't inspire the latter.

"No problem," Sadira smiled, trying to lay the girl's nervousness at ease. "My name is Sadira! I'm sorry again for running into you like that!"

"Oh...Oh, n-no, it's alright," the girl's eyes widened, "It was an accident!" After a moment of hesitation, she quickly added: "My name is Aini!"

Sadira nodded, pleased that Aini's stuttering seemed to be lessening. She felt a sudden rush of camaraderie for Aini and decided right then and there to get to know her if she could.

"I'd still like to make it up to you. Why don't you come with me? I'm heading over to meet some friends and I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I brought some company," Sadira suggested gently, seeing the girl tense up at the mention of meeting anyone. "What's the matter? They're nice people, I promise! They're like any good friends you could have," she smiled widely, recalling all the strange adventures she had experienced in the past because of Aladdin and Jasmine.

"I don't have...," Aini started, but trailed off quickly and looked away.

Sadira paused.

"You...don't have other friends? Go on, you can tell me," she urged gently, seeing the forlorn look on Aini's face.

The girl nodded her head, though she did not say a word.

"Well, that's not true!" Sadira stated plainly.

Aini looked back at her, startled by the sudden statement. She opened her mouth, feeling as thought there was something that needed saying, yet she could not force the right words. Sadira intervened further.

"It's not true, because I'm your friend...right?"

Aini, touched by the sudden proclamation of friendship, still could not help the cautious nagging in the back of her mind. Self-preservation wasn't something she was particularly spectacular at, but she still managed well enough thus far. It was such caution that allowed for that. Still, despite herself, Aini nodded slowly, a shy smile playing across her lips.

With that, Sadira laughed and grabbed hold of Aini's hand, pulling the startled girl with her towards the palace before she was met with protest. They ran toward the gates, the sprint serving to relax them both until they were laughing had having a surprisingly good time in each others company.

Sadira felt a new level of elation. Despite the fact that Aladdin and Jasmine were both her friends, she had never felt like she was truly "one of the gang" as she liked to put it. It had always been Aladdin and Jasmine. Then Sadira too. Never Aladdin, Jasmine, and Sadira. Which rather left her feeling like a third wheel, even though she knew Aladdin and Jasmine didn't mean it like that.

It was a nice notion, to be spending time with someone else entirely. To be on the inside, for once, even if it was just a two-person circle.

"Your friends live in the palace?" Aini asked, looking up at the towering building before them in awe. Sadira was pleased to see that in the time that it took them to get to the palace, her stutter had completely vanished.

"I guess I left out some stuff," Sadira spoke sheepishly. "Namely that Jasmine is the princess, and Aladdin is her boyfriend."

"Aw, I don't believe you!" Ai spoke skeptically, though with a hint of amusement in her voice. Never the less, she looked at Sadira expectantly, and was rather surprised when the young woman smirked, then knocked as hard as she could on the large gates before them. Moments later, the gates opened, and a palace guard looked down at them. He was a rather large man, muscular with a beard and a scowl on his face. He sneered down at both of them, then turned his sight on Sadira.

Aini expected that at any moment, they would have to turn and bolt from the gate, but instead watched as Sadira greeted the guard casually.

"Hi Razoul! Jasmine and Aladdin are expecting us!" Sadira said, completely unfazed by the way the guard was scowling at her.

"I know the princess and the street rat are expecting you witch...but I don't remember them saying you could bring another street mouse with you!" He looked at Aini pointedly. She, in turn, looked down at the floor. This simple exchange and the subsequent gesture of Aini's gaze drifting submissively to the ground brought a feeling of protectiveness over Sadira that she had seldom experienced.

Aini waited, expecting that at any moment, Sadira would probably ask her to leave in favour of going to see her other friends in the palace. She wouldn't really blame her, who would pass up an opportunity to go into the palace to spend time with someone like her anyway?

Much to her surprise, when Sadira did speak it was not to send her away.

"Don't talk to her like that!" The older girl scowled. "She's my friend!"

Seeing that his barbs would do little to sway Sadira, Razoul opened the gate just enough to let them pass through, reserving some nasty remarks he muttered under his breath as they passed. He knew better than to tangle with friends of the Princess, even if they were just a pair of beggars.

Sadira denied him the satisfaction of seeing the anger in her eyes as they passed.

Razoul stared at Sadira, and although he seemed to have acquired a level of caution, he never the less attempted to stare her down as she passed. His attempt at intimidation seemed to go unnoticed and for a moment, Aini thought she saw the dirt and sand around their feet begin to ripple.

The moment passed as they left Razoul behind to tend to official visitors that had followed after them, his manner instantly that of a respectful and dutiful soldier. His two-faced attitude made Sadira sick.

"W-Wow, that was brave!" Ai had started stuttering again, much to Sadira's dismay. Never the less, she said nothing, and only smiled, her ego puffing up a little.

They walked through the garden together, during which Sadira had to pry Aini away from staring at all the beautiful flowers in awe. She couldn't really blame her. The Palace boasted some of the loveliest gardens Sadira had ever seen.

"I've never seen such a beautiful garden!" Aini gasped as Sadira pulled her along.

"I can tell!" Sadira replied wryly. "You like flowers, huh?"

Aini nodded and opened her mouth to speak on the subject further. Before she could utter a word, her eyes fell on a quickly approaching figure, making his way between the pillars that lined the entrance into the palace toward them. Sadira followed her gaze and was not at all surprised that the younger girl had frozen in place in shock. A large, floating blue body was making its way over to them. Within moments, Genie was making his grand entrance.

_"Hey, you brought a friend!"_ He greeted them with a boisterous cry.

Sadira was not at all surprised when Aini yelped and hid behind her, looking at Genie with wide, curious eyes.

"Do you mind Genie, you're scaring her!" Sadira rolled her eyes, and gently urged Aini forward. "Aini, I'd like you to meet Genie. Genie, meet my new friend Aini! We sort of...ran into each other at the market place!"

Aini gazed up at Genie with a spellbound expression, having never before seen such an odd sight. A floating, blue man, whose extremities seemed to vanish into a curling blue trail of smoke beneath him. Still, this did nothing to impair his movement as he slid through the air with great ease and flair.

"H-Hello!" she squeaked, her voice rising a few octaves.

Genie grinned from ear to ear, and in the next instant, produced a ridiculously fluffy bunny rabbit from a black top hat he conjured from thin air. Without a word, he put it into Aini's arms and patted her head affectionately.

"Aaaw, so cute!" He gushed, making an effort to amuse Aini further by sitting her on a small pink cloud.

To Sadira, watching these disturbing series of events unfold in silence, the scene displayed before her looked disturbingly adorable. Aini was looking back at Genie with confused eyes, still holding the rabbit and now seated on a pink cloud a few feet above ground.

"Aaaw!" Genie gushed further, admiring his work.

"Anyways..." Sadira cleared her throat, trying to stop herself from bashing Genie over the head for his lack of self-control. "Have you seen Aladdin and Jasmine? We were supposed to meet here a while ago!"

"Oh yeah! Just follow me!" Genie replied before setting Aini back on solid earth.

"Anything else I should be warned about?" Aini asked Sadira as they walked side-by-side.

"Come to think of it, watch for a psychotic bird and a thieving monkey!" Sadira replied casually.

Genie led them inside the palace and into the grand dining room. As the doors opened, there was a cheer from the inside and streamers and balloons came floating down from the ceiling, courtesy of Genie's magic.

_"SURPRISE!"_

The shout gave Sadira such a scare she actually took a few safe steps back into the hallway, bumping into Aini and taking her along. When the air had cleared, she saw Aladdin, Jasmine, Iago, Abu, Genie, and Carpet had all gathered. The dining table was filled with all sorts of food and just looking at it was making Sadira hungry.

Entering the room with Aini in tow, Sadira looked between the other occupants of the room and the food on the table.

"What's...what's this all about guys?" Sadira asked, unable to mask the surprise in her voice.

"A little party we organized!" Jasmine replied. She placed a hand on Sadira's shoulder and led her further into the room. "I know you've been feeling sort of left out lately, so we all wanted to make it up to you!" She motioned for Sadira to come sit down. Obliging, Sadira sat next to Jasmine and left Aini to stand rather awkwardly to the side, not really sure of what she was supposed to do.

"Hey, who's your friend?" Aladdin asked, noticing Aini looking somewhat dismayed by herself.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry Aini! I guess I got caught up in the surprise. Guys, this is my friend Aini," she motioned, "Ai, these are Aladdin and Jasmine. The bird and monkey in question are Iago and Abu and the one your standing on is Carpet!" No sooner had she said this that the small rug Aini had inadvertently stood upon rippled gently beneath her feet. She gave a little yelp and quickly moved to allow Carpet to rise from the ground and shake her hand with one of its tassles.

"Wouldn't you like to sit down Aini? Don't be shy!" Jasmine offered her a seat beside her and Aini gratefully walked over and sat down modestly, straightening the creases in her robe.

"P-please call m-me Ai!" she stammered once more, worst then before. However, she smiled genuinely.

"Well, is this a party or what? Let's start eating already, I'm starving to death here!" Iago squawked, his beak already diving into a bowl of fruit in front of him.

Without further ado, the group enjoyed the food and talked amongst themselves. During which Aini's stutter lessened and lessened until it was once again completely gone, and she looked almost half-comfortable to be amongst so many people.

"Well, a friend of Sadira's is a friend of ours!" Aladdin remarked as Sadira recounted the tale of how she and Ai had met at the market. Aini felt happier then she had ever felt before.

At one point during the party, Iago leaned towards Genie.

"Say, why do you suppose she doesn't have that many friends? She's a nice kid!" Iago remarked, even he a bit taken by how genteel Ai was.

"Well look at her," Genie shrugged, careful to keep his voice down, "She's so shy, she probably has a really hard time getting to know people. There are a lot of people that would want to take advantage of someone like her. This has been a bit easier on her because Sadira introduced her to us!" Genie replied.

At the end of the party, Jasmine, at Sadira's secret behest, pulled Aini away to speak with her in private. Sadira, meanwhile, busied herself by bidding farewell to the other party-goers. She was getting ready to go back to the caverns under the desert and get a good night's rest, having asked Jasmine for this favor in Aini's behalf. She knew she would have to speak up for the girl in this instance, Aini could hardly be expected to work up the nerve herself.

"Ai, do you have a place to stay?" Jasmine asked gently, not really wanting to embarrass the girl because she already knew what the answer would probably be. After spending some time on the outside of the palace, Jasmine had come to understand that not all people were born as lucky or well provided for as she. With that knowledge ever present in her mind, she tried to do good whenever she could.

"Well, not a 'place', really...," Ai trailed off, looking at her hands sheepishly.

"Well, that settles it then, come on!" Jasmine beckoned, and let Aini say goodnight to Sadira before leading her down a long hallway.

"Where are we going?" Aini asked, still unsure as to what Jasmine was up to. Sadira had promised to come and visit her soon, but Aini wondered how Sadira would be able to find her later. She supposed they might run into each other in the marketplace. She hoped so.

"Your going to stay here for the time being. I hate to say it, but the streets of Agrabah aren't safe for a young girl like you at night!" Jasmine sighed, and stopped in front of another door. She opened it and stepped inside, waiting for Aini to follow.

The room they were in was not particularly grandiose, but to Aini, who had nothing but the street to compare it to, it was the lap of luxury. Dark blue and white drapery hung on the windows. A large bed was against one corner, with two dark cupboards placed on either side of it and a tiny balcony just opposite that.

"Consider this your room for the duration of your stay!" Jasmine smiled.

That night, Aini slept better than she could remember. She dreamt pleasant dreams, in which she eagerly anticipated the events the next day would bring.

--

_Next, Sadira offers Aini the chance to become a Witch of the Sand. However, teaching her backfires when she accidentally sets a spell at Arbutus' doorstep..._


	2. Storm of the Desert

**f There Be Thorns**

**By:** Maggie Griffin

**CHAPTER 2: Storm of the Desert**

* * *

The sun had set over the desert, yet one place alone still possessed an unnatural light of its own, illuminating the green shrubbery and the many colourful flowers and plants that grew there. As always, the gates to such a place remained closed to outsiders, keeping it safe from both intruders, as well as the harshness of the desert sand.

In this strange light, Arbutus' garden bloomed beautifully, more so then any other in the world. Not a leaf grew brown, or flower wilted, reminding all that this way a place of eternal life. At least in the eyes of Arbutus himself, who had long ago closed the gates permanently, his battered soul not wanting to fathom even the slightest chance of encountering another human.

Jasmine had been enough.

For what must have been the one hundredth time since finding himself newly resurrected, Arbutus recalled the events that had transpired. Events that had given him false hope that perhaps humans truly were misunderstood. That like the Princess Jasmine, some could be brought to understand the pain he felt when one of his children was ripped from the earth.

Now however, he knew better. For like the Princess Jasmine, he now saw the human race as one of betrayers, liars, and killers. The Princess Jasmine and her lover had seen to it. He had been lied to, betrayed, and finally killed.

A sigh escaped his lips, and he lost concentration on the piece he had been working on. The flowers tangled themselves, creating a rather unsightly mass before him.

With a wave of his hand, the vines and flowers untangled themselves, spreading into different parts of the garden. Unfortunately, such a thing had become routine as of late, and was more than just getting on Arbutus' already fragile nerves. Since his betrayal by the one human he had thought understood him, Arbutus had felt more alone then ever before. While it was certainly true that he still had his trees and flowers; his children of sorts, there was still an emptiness inside he knew no one would ever be able to fill. Why, he thought with a growing sense of bitterness, were the most intelligent creatures on the planet _so_ ignorant. Not just ignorant. Cruel. So much potential wasted.

With another forlorn sigh, he returned to his work, knowing beforehand it would be another failure.

* * *

In the days that came and went, Aini had become comfortable around the many people around her. So much so she no longer violently stuttered whenever Razoul spoke to her, which was seldom. The first little while had been a rather tiring feat for the regulars of the palace. Getting Aini out of her room, and then trying to make her a bit more comfortable.

"I've never met anyone that was as skitterish as you kid! You gotta have more of a back bone, and being around this group will do that for you!" Genie has said to her upon one of their conversations. Despite the very strange events that had transpired the first time they had met, Aini and Genie were getting along better then well. In fact, Aini had found it easiest to talk to Genie than to anyone she had met thus far. It wasn't that she didn't get along with everyone, but Genie's natural friendliness and the animated way he carried himself made him the easiest to speak to.

Jasmine had also been especially kind to her, lending her some of her older clothes to replace the rags that had passed for a cloak for so many years. The clothes were from when Jasmine had been a few years younger and inches shorter, making them an appropriate fit.

Sadira had continued visiting, and Aini had started looking up to her in a way she had never looked up to anyone before. That probably being that since she had been abandoned as a child, Aini had experienced very little positive influence. One would think that living in the worst parts of Agrabah by oneself would work on improving a person's backbone, maybe toughening them up on the inside.

Unfortunately, seeing that Aini was more or less a jellyfish, that theory could be discredited.

Indeed, she remembered very little of her parents. She could, at times, recall her mother. The scent of her hair or how warm Aini's tiny hand had felt clutched in hers. She so vividly recalled her mother bending down to kiss her cheek that once last time before turning and leaving forever. The sound of her voice, lost now to time, was indistinguishable from other women, but Aini still remembered being told to be a good girl and to wait until her parents returned to fetch her.

It was sometimes difficult to believe that such a woman had abandoned her. But so it was, since neither of her parents had returned to her into that dark street. She had sat there on the dirty ground for hours, waiting and waiting. Finally, dawn had broken through the sky and flooded the street with a soft, yellow glow.

Merchants had begun to set up there tables and stands, and people once again flooded the streets. It was only when a group of rowdy teenage boys had approached her, teasing her when they saw how young and timid she was, that Aini had upped and left the street. Unfortunately, her sense of direction had never been that great, and she never did find her way back home.

It didn't matter all the same, because since that day she had not seen a sign of her parents. Time passed until she could no longer remember what they looked like. On that day, she recalled, crying harder than ever before. Desperately trying to keep some solid semblance of their images in her mind. Now, she only had those bits. The warmth against her hand and the smell of her mother's hair. Like fruits.

Unbeknown even to Sadira, Aini had taken to looking to her as a sort of strange parental figure. She always paid attention to her, listening in such a manner that Sadira felt as though she were the teacher to Aini's student. It flattered the young woman immensely. It also put a notion into her head that she mulled over and tossed about in her mind for some time.

It was on one of their walks through the grand palace garden that Aini brought up a topic that had first intrigued her, but had been temporarily forgotten in the commotion of recent events.

"Sadira?" Her voice interrupted the silence they had been sharing, and Sadira looked over at Ai, who was looking back at her with wide eyes.

"Yep?"

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you about the first time you took me here! Something that Razoul said..." she trailed off, not really knowing how to put the question to Sadira.

She recalled how Razoul had called her a 'witch'. Then remembered the earth beneath Razoul's feet begin to shake. Normally, such a small thing could have gone unnoticed, but to Aini, who spent most of her time looking at the ground, it was something that had caught her attention and refused to let go.

"What's that?" Sadira's expression had gained a knowing shade, as if she already knew what Ai was going to ask her.

"It's about when Razoul called you...well...," she trailed off again, looking at the floor as if she had become fascinated with the pebbles.

"A witch?" Sadira's sudden statement caught Aini off guard, and the younger girl looked up at the woman in surprise, but then nodded her head. "Well, it's true! I'm a Witch of the Sand...still learning!"

Aini blinked. "What's a Witch of the Sand?"

"Oh, the Witches of the Sand used to be powerful magic practitioners!" Sadira began to explain. They sat down on a white bench, and she continued. "They used to rule the seven deserts by calling on the power of the sane and controlling for their own gain," she frowned, as though remembering some distant, painful memory. "Anyways, they...up and left, leaving behind all these scrolls that could teach a person how to use their power! I just happened to find their temple one day, and well, the rest is history!"

Aini had remained silent, captivated by what Sadira was telling her. It wasn't so much the mention of power that drew her, so much as the mention of something unreal. As if the company of a flying carpet, a Genie, and a rather rude talking parrot hadn't convinced her yet that the world was not as normal as it was said to be.

"Wow, that's incredible!" She sighed, and Sadira grinned broadly.

"You know...I could teach you!" Sadira offered suddenly, the offer catching Aini out of the blue. "I mean, you and I are friends now, and you could use some help, no offense...," she trailed off, referring to the fact that sooner or later, Aini had to return back to where she had come from, with a better sense of learning how to take care of herself. There was little risk of Jasmine turning her out to the street, but Sadira knew it was only a matter of time before Aini would come to think of herself a burden and wish to leave.

Aini herself had known that despite Jasmine's wonderful hospitality, she couldn't keep taking advantage of it, and the thought made her feel guilty.

She nodded, looking back at Sadira.

"You...you would teach me? To be able to take care of myself like you, and use your power? You'd be willing to do that?" There was clear amazement in her voice. Nobody had ever offered to do anything so nice for her before.

In her case, nobody before Sadira, Aladdin, and Jasmine.

Sadira nodded vigorously, her grin broadening.

"Well, yes! I mean, I think it would be great! You could learn some really useful things. Besides, I wouldn't offer if I didn't think you were responsible enough to not abuse it," Sadira stated.

Aini nodded, her eyes widening further.

"No, of course I won't!" She nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, I'll be a great student Sadira, I promise!"

"Yeah, and this is pretty great," Sadira laughed. "You can sort of be my...apprentice!"

With that, the two girls began laughing again, continuing their walk through the garden.

* * *

"Concentrate, Ai! You have the basics down, but you have to learn to defend yourself!" Sadira instructed.

Aini stood in front of Sadira, hands out before her body with a look of pure concentration on her face. Her eyes were tightly closed, as they often were when she tried to channel the power Sadira had recently introduced her to. Unfortunately, it seemed that even in the usage of such power, Aini was somewhat squeamish.

"But Sadira, I don't want to hurt anyone with it!" She squeaked, her hands creating gestures which the sand floating before her followed rhythmically.

"Ai!" Sadira exclaimed, rather exasperated. "When some guy catches you and tries to rape and kill you in an alley, do you think you should be very concerned with getting sand in his eyes?"

Aini shook her head quickly, and made a wild gesture with her hands, flinging the sand across the room in a wild arc. It hit the wall opposite so hard it left a small dent in the stone.

"_Alright!_" Sadira cheered as she saw what Ai had done. "Looks like fear is your incentive. Not a very good one, but good for now!"

Aini scowled at the idea of using her fears of being hurt to gain such advantage. It would have pleased her to know she could do that by simply thinking it, like Sadira had the power to do. However, if it helped for the time being, she supposed she would have to work with what she had.

"Come on, I want to take you up above and see what we can do with all the sand they have lying around in the desert!" Sadira winked, anticipating some fun. "I'm thinking it's time we started something a little more advanced than throwing sand in people's faces!"

Aini nodded and followed after her. In moments, they stood outside the temple, facing away from Agrabah in the event that Ai should lose control and end up sending something unpleasant towards the city.

Sadira took a few minutes to describe the intricacies of what she was about to teach Aini, warning her of the dangers as well. One had to know both how to begin something and how to end it, she knew. "Okay, now do what you did before, only this time, concentrated on moving a larger mass! Remember, try to visualize a pattern in the sand, it will make it easier to group together as a single mass. Just visualize what you want," Sadira instructed.

Aini took a deep breath and closed her eyes, visualizing a massive wall of sand that flew down the slopes of the desert. It was always as she had seen them, powers onto their own. Alive, in their own way.

Slowly, the sands before them began to shift and slowly lift into the air, until it swirled together and the first vestigial signs of a wall began to appear amidst the turmoil.

"Your doing it, keep going!" Sadira urged, watching the spectacle with glee.

Obliging, Aini opened her eyes to see what she was doing. The wall seemed to rise higher and higher as more sand joined the fray. Soon, it was howling in the air, blotting out Sadira's whoops of excitement and praise. The sand storm raged directly in front of them, staying still as Aini could will it to.

The entire experience however, was not so pleasing for Aini, who was using a tremendous amount of energy to keep it under control. Still, no matter how much she clenched and unclenched her fists, no matter how much she ground her teeth and struggled to keep even control, she could feel herself slipping. First bits and pieces she managed to take hold of, but soon she found more and more of her control over the storm was unraveling, like the first bits of string pulled to undo a great tapestry.

_"SADIRA, I CAN'T HOLD ON TO IT!"_ She screamed over the din, realizing she was about to lose control.

_"ALRIGHT, LET IT GO AND I'LL BRING IT DOWN!"_

Aini obliged happily, releasing her hold of the sand with the expectation that Sadira could get control and bring the storm to a peaceful halt. She miscalculated. In her effort to keep control, Aini had not fully comprehended the size and strength of the storm and thus, in diminishing her control all at once instead of gradually, could not foresee the consequences. Like trying to keep a beast at bay that gradually tore down your strength, the storm tore away from her the moment she relinquished the first tiny bit of control.

_"N-NO!"_ She protested, her cry lost to the din.

Aini looked back wide eyed as she heard Sadira scream a protest and watched as the humongous storm raged forward at top speed.

_"WH-WHAT HAPPENED? CAN'T YOU STOP IT?"_ Ai yelled, the storm having produced such a roar that it was almost deafening. She watched as it headed off further into the desert, thankfully away from Agrabah. She didn't even want to think about what could have happened if they had been facing in the direction of the city.

Sadira tried once more to gain control, finding absolutely no leverage to do so. She finally collapsed on her knees in the sand, too tired to try again. Aini breathed in air as it cleared around them the further the storm went, also exhausted.

"N-Now what?" Ai asked, worry lacing her tone.

"Well, at least it's heading off deeper into the desert! It won't be able to hurt anyone now!" Sadira breathed, then helped Ai stand.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't hold on to it, I really tried!" Aini whimpered, her eyes falling instantly to the floor.

"Hey, I couldn't stop it either! That was one massive surge of power you had going there," Sadira shrugged. "All the same, it won't hurt anyone, so we both got off lucky!" She smiled, content in her belief that they had narrowly avoided a small calamity.

* * *

Arbutus has not seen the storm approach.

Although he had heard the strange howling from far away, he had assumed it had nothing to do with him, delving back into his work and his rather depressed state of mind. So when the storm hit, no defences had been initiated, and nothing had truly been protected and ready.

The storm had taken an incredibly short amount of time to get from Agrabah's desert to his green home, but when the sand came pouring through the gate, Arbutus had just enough time to register shock before the heat swallowed his beautiful garden whole.

He now stood in its centre, examining the damage, knowing it was fixable, but furious all the same. Who wouldn't be, if their children had been slaughtered before them? The grass, the flowers, the plants, all his beautiful creations lay buried under the sand. Arbutus had narrowly escaped only due to the luck of having been standing _above_ his garden at the time, in the tangle of vines that made up a gazebo that overlooked most of the garden.

Arbutus saw the remains of his beautiful garden, buried under searing sand, turning brown and wasting away in its heat. As he watched the irregular shifting within the sand, he saw the work of not nature, but magic.

Deep inside this supposedly natural disaster, one he would have normally forgiven to the workings of mother nature, he saw the roots of magic and meddling where there should have been none. Magic to tamper with the natural world. His fury instantly rose ten-fold. To think that someone, _someone, _had done this...

"Someone did this!"

His eyes narrowed, and his fine hands turned to tight fists. He was out the gate in seconds, his anger and stride having taken him from his perch on the gazebo out into the element of the desert itself. Behind him, the garden was already beginning to heal and rebuild itself. Come the next nightfall, it would be back to its old self. Yet the screams of his children rang in his sensitive ears, and Arbutus could not simply forget that.

He could not forgive that.

The anger that had been steadily building inside him finally erupted as he felt the first traces of heat touch his sensitive body. A good reason he seldom ventured into the desert. He imagined this small pain, multiplied a hundred fold and bearing down on the delicate forms of his creations. His _children._

Burning them alive.

With a shrill howl of agony and hatred, the earth around him shifted on his own accord, forming a tight seal around him as the earth swallowed him up. He let the underground take control then, his instincts taking him to the storm's place of origin. To the one responsible for this unprovoked attack and destruction of his home.

On the inside, he seethed, feeding his hate as screams continued to echo in his head.

* * *

_Next: Arbutus finds Sadira, who, in an attempt to cover for Aini, blames herself for the accident. Her self-sacrifice backfires however when as punishment, Arbutus claims Aini instead._


	3. One Price for Another

**If There Be Thorns**

**By:** Maggie Griffin

**CHAPTER 3: One Price For Another**

* * *

"I still can't believe I did that!"

Aini said glumly, perching herself on one of Sadira's man-made sand chairs. They had retired to the caverns beneath the desert some time ago. Sadira stood a few feet away, watching the smaller girl with sympathy.

"I told you, stop beating yourself up about it! So you lost control of a little storm, big deal! You sent it flying away from Agrabah, so nobody got hurt!" She argued, "Besides," she added with a snort, "you don't think I've made some bad decisions in the past? I mean, I'm sorry for it now, but I did it on purpose back then. At least what happened earlier was just an accident." Her words, though genuine in their sincerity, did little to calm Aini's nerves. Since the fiasco with the storm, the girl had taken to silently punishing herself for what she had done.

Sadira couldn't really blame her for that. The storm had been violent and grand, a bad combination. She didn't want to think that some poor, unassuming traveler may have been caught in its thrall. Still, she thought, the chances of that were slim.

_Slimmer than what may have happened had it made its way to Agrabah,_ she reminded herself. In that, at least, Aini could find some comfort. Unfortunately, Aini had been feeling sorry about the entire ordeal for the last hour and a half, and now continued to mull over the events even further.

"What if there's a chance someone did get hurt? Then it was because of me...," she trailed off.

Sadira resisted the urge to give her a good shake. "Would you just stop! There was nobody out there. The desert is huge, and besides, how long could a storm go on for anyway? It probably died down the second it crossed into the horizon!" She tried to reason.

Aini said nothing and continued looking down at the floor.

"Look Ai, I-," Sadira started, but was cut off as a rumbling sound filled the air. "What...is that?"

Aini looked around and shrugged. Moments later, she was following Sadira down the caverns towards the exit. The walls and ceiling shook around them as they went and Aini feared that at any given moment, the entire place would come crashing down on their very delicate skulls.

They made it out into the desert safely, and stood side by side, trying to locate the source of the rumbling. With each moment, it grew stronger and stronger, putting a new fear into Sadira's head.

"It's coming towards us," she muttered under her breath, the realization hitting her with due force.

"I-Is that the storm?" Aini squinted, trying to see into the distance. "Is it coming back?"

Sadira said nothing, unwilling to fill Aini's head with any further notions of destruction. Still, the sound deepened as it came closer and despite the heat, Sadira felt a chill travel down her spine. If it was the storm...if it was heading for the city...She put a comforting hand on Aini's shoulder when she saw the horrified expression on the younger girl's face. It was as much a calming gesture for Aini's sake as it was for her own.

"Don't be afraid, Ai! Whatever it is, I can handle it!" She gulped, not sure she even believed herself. After all, she had not done a particularly stellar job of stopping it last time, had she? Never the less, she pursed her lips in determination and stated in a calm, confident voice, "I'm a Witch of the Sand. I can handle this!" Doubt laced her voice.

_"I BEG TO DIFFER!"_

The thunderous voice scared Aini so badly, she yelped and backed away from Sadira's side, pulling at the witch's hand in an attempt to get her to follow. At that moment, Sadira was considering dropping any pretense and doing just that. She looked around for the source of the rumbling voice but could find nothing to trace it back to. There was nobody around them. Still, the earth continued to shake violently, piles and piles of sand shifting around their feet, threatening to bury them if they weren't careful.

_"S-S-Sadira, wh-what's happening?"_ Aini cried as the noise grew louder. She found herself falling suddenly as the sand at her feet rippled, opening a crevice in the earth and sending her flailing backwards to the ground. The crevice groaned and expanded until Aini was forced to scuttle backwards where she lay, avoiding falling into the opening by mere seconds. It was only Sadira, pulling on the back of her collar to drag her away further that saved Aini from perishing underground.

Then, everything became still. Silence settled around them and Aini was able to get to her feet shakily. Standing beside her, Sadira leaned over the crevice gingerly, despite Aini's protests and weak attempts to pull her away. There was something down there, the young girl felt. Something that had _caused_ all that noise and trembling and wind. Something that she knew, _knew,_ Sadira had heard as well. A voice in the desert.

From within the depths of the crevice, there was something of a soft sound. Aini strained to hear it, like the sound of dry leaves underfoot. Like the sound of-

There was a flicker of movement. Aini moved backwards just in time to see a pair of dark green ropes snake into the bright desert sunlight. They slithered towards the two girls, whom, upon closer inspection, could see that these were not ropes at all, but rather a pair of crawiling--really, _crawling_, Aini gasped--living vines. They watched, horrified, as a tall, willowy _tree _followed closely behind. Upon emerging from the crevice, the tree stretched itself to its full height, blotting out the sun behind it.

It loomed over them both, casting a shadow that seemed to engulf everything it touched. They stood in that shadow now, trembling. Despite her terror, Aini squinted her eyes in an effort to see clearly. Eventually, her sight adjusted and allowed her to see what was really glaring back at them. _Glaring?_ She took a deep breath. The realization that this was no tree at all, but rather some form of living creature caught that very breath in her throat. For a moment, she forgot to exhale and found herself gasping for air moments later.

The visage stood a good seven feet high, towering over them with a look of hatred on its face. Shaking her head, Aini tried to dispel the illusion, but it remained. She came to realize that what she saw was no trick of the light. No hallucination. Indeed, even at that very moment, the creature was spreading its limber arms, its hands clenching and unclenching at its sides. Each delicate finger ended in a wicked looking claw, and when it opened its mouth in a snarl Aini could see the pointed teeth within.

Despite the terror of its countenance, the creature wore a magnificent red robe. Around its slender shoulders was a dark green armor shield from which sprang a number of large, wicked-looking thorns. The bottom half of its body seemed wrapped in-

_Leaves?_ Aini wondered, growing curious, despite her terror.

Then it opened its mouth and spoke. _"YOU! THAT MAGIC WAS YOURS!"_ His voice boomed, a deep, rich tone that demanded immediate attention. Sadira looked back at him, trying to keep brave, for Aini's sake. She only vaguely knew what she was looking at, remembering a scroll she had once come upon and a story Jasmine had told her. Something about a garden hidden deep in the desert and a creature that lived within it...

_"You, witch! I can sense that magic,"_ his voice resonated all around them._ "You destroyed my beautiful garden!"_ He pointed an accusatory finger at Sadira,_ "You burned by children!"_ Sadira blanched, too lost in the vision before her to properly register what he was saying. _"NOW PAY FOR YOUR CRIME!"_ Arbutus stretched his arms high above him and Sadira watched, her fear growing, as his body grew several more feet in height, towering over them.

The realization of what Arbutus was talking about hit both Sadira and Aini at the same time, shock registering on both of their faces.

"Oh no...," Aini whimpered, holding Sadira back. It was all wrong, she realized. The creature before them sought punishment, she thought. The storm, she knew for certain now, had hurt someone. The error of the creature's words caught up with her suddenly and she took a few steps forward, desperate to placate the creature's anger before he wrong party suffered for what she had done. She opened her mouth to protest, _"NO! I..."_ she started, but Sadira cut her off, wrenching herself free from Aini's grasp.

_Arbutus!_ Sadira recalled suddenly. That was the creature's name. The one from Jasmine's story. She remembered it now, bits and pieces coming back to her. She remembered her skepticism at the time, _a creature like that?_ Too far fetched for her tastes. Not so much, it would seem. She remembered the story. Remembered the trouble taken to ensure vengeance on Arbutus' behalf. She couldn't let that happen to Aini. The girl was her responsibility, she realized. Sadira had lacked the proper preparation as far as her magic went. She had introduced Aini to that hidden world far too quickly. The girl had lacked preparation also. _My responsibility,_ she thought. _My fault._

_"I DID IT! I KNOW I DID IT! PLEASE, IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!"_ Sadira hollered, seeing that Arbutus had finally taken full note of Aini and was not glaring down at her. The girl could only quake under his discerning gaze. He leaned closer, a fluid motion that caught Aini by surprise. Instinctively, she backed away a few paces.

"And who is this little witch?" Arbutus hissed.

_"NO, PLEASE!"_ A cold wave of fear spread through Sadira and she cried out in desperation. _"PLEASE, DO ANYTHING YOU WANT WITH ME, BUT DON'T HURT HER! SHE'S NOT RESPONSIBLE!"_

_"Sadira, t-that's n-n-not-_," Aini tried to intervene once more, determined to set the record straight. But her stutter, coupled with Sadira's determination to accept responsibility, stopped her short. She could do nothing as Sadira stepped between them. Every time Aini tried to open her mouth to speak, her stutter was simply too great. Biting into her knuckles in a desperate attempt to focus on something besides the fear, she tried to speak once more.

"_SHUT UP, AINI!_" Sadira intervened. _"PLEASE ARBUTUS, LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!"_

Arbutus glanced back and forth between them. His eyes narrowed momentarily, as if recalling something from the past.

"Aini...flower! I once knew someone whose name represented the very things I love, and she betrayed me...," his words were bitter and it took Sadira little time to realize he was speaking of his encounter with the Princess, Jasmine. "Why would the rest of your kind be any different? Why should it matter, if I take you...," he gestured to Sadira, "...or the little one!"

Sadira's eyes widened in horror as she saw the decisive look in his eyes, and watched as he turned to Aini, who could only whimper in fear as one leafy, large hand came snaking down out of the sky, crushing her painfully between its fingers. She cried out, squirming to no avail, and positive that her death was imminent. Surely, any moment now, Arbutus would tighten his fist and extract his revenge. Or perhaps he would simply send her falling back down to the earth, with nothing below to ease her descent.

"Why should I punish you directly?" Arbutus smiled. It was not a smile that promised good intentions. "Why, when I can take from you, like you took from me, and punish in your place?" Arbutus hissed.

_"NO!"_ Sadira screamed. _"YOU CAN'T, SHE'S JUST A KID!"_ The last word came out a strangled choke as a vine whipped tightly across her mouth, sealing in her voice. Her muffled protests were to no avail. A second pair of vines snaked themselves tightly around her body, cocooning her to the ground.

Arbutus ignored her sealed pleas and protests, setting his sights back on Aini, who was whimpering in fear but standing her ground none the less.

_If I don't, he'll hurt Sadira._ She thought. _This way, I'll get punished like I deserve, and she'll get to go free!_

"I can sense your fear...commendable that you stay despite it," he spoke to her, pursing his lips. His expression changed suddenly, boredom hinting on his face. "I expected you to at least try to run away. Doesn't it bother you, that you should be punished for what the witch did?" Arbutus asked, his tone having lost the hiss and resumed a more gentle, although still frightening tone.

"I...I don't c...care! She...she's m..my friend!" Aini managed to gasp.

"Touching, but worthless! No friendship is real, and no trust, certainly...," he trailed off, that same bitterness returning to his voice.

"Th...th...that's not true!"

Arbutus sneered, then brought her closer to his face. So much so that Aini was able to see into his eyes, and momentarily marvelled at the strange colour. A clear mix of brown and green, interweaving naturally around his black irises. It was mesmerizing.

"We shall see how you feel about the value of your friendship when you endure the witch's punishment" Despite his voice being barely above a whisper, Aini could hear each word clearly. With a wave of his other hand, the tight vines that had held Sadira captive loosened and moved away from her, leaving her bruised and winded on the hot desert sand. She coughed violently, rolling over to her side and trying to catch her breath. There was a horrible ache in her chest and ribs.

"This is your punishment, witch! Live with the guilt of knowing you caused your friend's demise!"

Sadira cried out, more from his words then from the pain wracking her body. She raised her hands, preparing to call upon the sand to try to retrieve Aini from Arbutus' grasp, but before she could do anything, Arbutus made a motion with his other hand. The crevice they had watched him emerge from moments ago widened further still. Sadira could only watch, helpless, as both figures vanished deep into it. The crevice sealed behind them.

_"NO!"_ Sadira screamed, knowing her attempt at self-sacrifice had been in vain. Arbutus, thinking himself clever, would take Aini as punishment for what Sadira had supposedly done. "_She doesn't deserve to die...it was an accident, I should have stopped the storm myself!_" She cried to no avail. No amount of screams or tears would reopen the crevice. No amount of apologies would return Aini. The pain in her body lessened but she could do nothing to assuage the guilt.

* * *

Time had lost meaning to Aini the moment Arbutus re-entered the earth. He continued to clutch her in his hand and she could see nothing as they traveled. The journey seemed to last only seconds, yet when they re-appeared back on land, they were somewhere Aini had never seen before.

They stood on green land, not a trace of the desert around them. Directly before them were pair of immense gates. It was there that Arbutus set her down on the ground, but peered at her in such a way that Aini knew there would be nowhere to run if the urge took her. So she obliged, unwilling to anger him further.

Now back in the familiar vicinity of his home, Arbutus saw no further reason to keep up pretense and allowed his body to reduce in size to his original seven feet. Still, even at seven feet he towered over the girl. The way he hovered over her now only stood to make Aini feel more self-conscious and afraid.

When she summoned the courage to look into his face and saw he was staring back at her, she closed her eyes, tensing her body for whatever horrible punishment that was sure to follow. It sounded like nothing short of certain death, torture at the very least.

She waited in silence for a moment, until she heard Arbutus speak once more.

"What are you doing?" He asked, the bored tone retained in his voice.

Aini opened one eye cautiously, then the other.

"Well?" She asked timidly, still frightened.

"Well what?"

"Aren't y-you going to..." she paused, wondering if she really wanted to be in the position of reminding him that he had wanted to hurt her, "...uh...p..p..punish me?"

Arbutus raised an eyebrow, then sighed and shook his head. He turned away and walked to the gates, once more motioning with his hands to command them to open.

"Come little one, I'll show you where you may sleep!" He muttered. Aini stared after him, completely confused. However, she chose not to bring the subject up again. If Arbutus had changed his mind about killing her, she wasn't going to start pushing her luck by asking why.

She trailed behind him, becoming immersed in studying him further as they walked. There were tiny details she had failed to notice previously that caught her attention. The way he moved, for one, was something that had her curious. He seemed to glide over the floor. She vaguely wondered if he had feet. She became so immersed in watching him walk, that she stopped paying attention to where she was walking.

Arbutus stopped suddenly, catching Aini off guard and causing her to walk right into him with a jolt.

"Would you at least keep your sights on where you are going?" Arbutus' voice dripped with annoyance, and Aini felt herself shrink even further.

"S..sorry!"

Arbutus sighed, feeling his irritation ebb as he looked down at the girl.

_She really doesn't seem that bad_, He pursed his lips, _but she must be terrified_. It was no wonder. She was a small thing. It was little wonder the witch had been so protective of her. Like her name, she was as one of his flowers. Certainly they were in the same position, both in a place of danger, and both too weak to do anything about it.

He shook his head, shaking away the remnants of sympathy that had started to crawl into his mind.

"Just be more careful!" He snapped. Another hand gesture parted a curtain of foliage masking their path. When they entered the land behind it, Aini felt herself freeze, the sight before her so overwhelming.

Arbutus, noticing the expression on her face, felt a rush of pride. It had been a long time since anyone had seen his garden. Even before the ****unpleasantness of time past. The healing had completed as he had estimated, only bits and pieces of the attack remaining, mostly a scorched leaf here or a bit of sand lying about there. Otherwise, the garden had reverted back to its original beauty. Flowers and plants made up the world all around them.

There was a small stream that snaked through large garden, and in one corner a stairwell of interconnecting vines which led up to an overlooking point high in the sky, a sort of tree house hidden high above them.

"Do you like my home?" Arbutus asked. "It is said to be the most beautiful garden in the world, and I should know, I have seen them all!" He said with some haughtiness.

Aini nodded, her eyes traveling from one place of wonder to the next, unbelieving to the beauty around her.

"It's wonderful!" She whispered, her stutter gone.

Arbutus felt a corner of his lips twitch. Pride resonated through every part of his body. Compliments had a way of doing that to him. His home was, after all, his most beautiful masterpiece. It was nice to have someone present to appreciate it.

"It is your home now, and I expect you to respect that!" He said firmly.

Aini glanced at him shyly and nodded.

"Good! Come then, let me show you all there is to be seen!"

* * *

_Next: Sadira seeks help from Aladdin and Jasmine, while Aini struggles to see Arbutus in a more favorable light._


	4. By Any Other Name

If There Be Thorns

By Maggie Griffin

CHAPTER 4: By Any Other Name

**********

Sadira was unaware of exactly how much time passed since she had made her way to Agrabah. By the time she got there, the pain from her stomach had gone completely, as had the sun set into the sky, giving way for the desert cold of the night.

"This is all my fault, I should have been able to do something. You think, I have all these powers...well what good are they?" she muttered under her breath as she tried to keep control of the sand that transported her back to the city. She was finding it a bit difficult, particularly after what had just transpired.

The city came into view in the distance, and Sadira narrowed her eyes, willing the sand to move faster.

~Come on....it could already be too late....~

**********

The garden had begun to look a bit frightening to Aini. While it still retained its immense beauty, the un natural lights that faded in and out through some of the more translucent leaves gave the place a rather spooky effect, like a forgotten world.

~Well it is, in a way~ She reasoned, trying to get comfortable on the bed of thick leaves that Arbatus had left for her to rest on.

To her immense relief earlier, Arbutus had not killed her, as he had implied to Sadira. He had instead, showed her the garden, making it clear that this way to be her home from now on. Ai had not objected, though wether from fear or contentment was unsure.

Arbutus had also taken the time to show her all that was to be seen, which had turned out to be much more then she had anticipated. A small waterfall had been hidden behind dense shrubbery at one corner of the garden. It had parted at Arbutus' whim, spreading apart to reveal the flowing crystalline water.

Trees grew in vast amounts all around the garden, as if holding together an impenetrable fortress. Green grass grew everywhere, not a single blade turning yellow with age. Flowers had outlined the corners, spreading around in pretty patterns, and Arbutus had explained that was part of his own unique art.

"A living art!" he had called it, gesturing to the flower beds around them.

Before the sun had set completely, he had bade her to climb the winding vine-like staircase Ai had noticed early, leading up to the small gazebo-like structure that hung in the air, supported by vines and wayward branches.

Aini recalled standing up there, looking out to the rest of the garden. For a brief moment, she had felt completely at peace, as if the ever-present fear that was always been a part of her had temporarily evaporated.

Now, she lay in the dark corner, jumping at every whistle caused by the wind stirring the leaves and flower petals, which seemed to stir in the moonlight.

Finally, Aini rose to her feet, unable to fall asleep where she had lain. She made her way carefully through the garden, making sure she didn't step on any flowers or plants. After a moment, she saw the familiar sight of the winding staircase, and made her way up to the gazebo.

The moonlight struck the center, which had no roof, only large leaves that swept upwards in an angle. The center was filled with flower petals of different colors, and now looked even more beautiful bathed in the moonlight. Aini made herself comfortable in the center of the patch of light, and was asleep in moments.

A figure moved beneath the gazebo, appearing at the foot of the vine stairs. His willowy frame moved with grace in the darkness, like a lost spirit moving among the shadows. A fine hand reached out, grasping one end of the stairs, and the thin faced looked upwards, towards where he knew the little child slept.

Arbutus sighed, and shook his head. He had kept an eye on Aini, convinced that at any given moment when his back was turned, she would try to make a run for it. As anticipated, she had rose in the night, and moved through the garden. He had planned to catch her at the gates, but had become confused when she had begun to climb the stairs.

Now, he knew she slept, feeling her essence at rest at last.

He had sensed her confusion earlier, and looked down at her with that look on her face, one he had never seen before. Her eyes had been closed tight, and every part of her had seemed tense, awaiting the horrible punishment he had promised the other witch he would no doubt deliver.

Of course, he had lied. Had he wanted to truly kill to appease his need for justice, he would have taken the one directly responsible. Yet he much preferred the poetic justice contrived from simply taking the little one. Let the witch keep thinking the child was dead. That way, her punishment would last an eternity.

In the meantime, he would think of some way to put the little one to some good use. He didn't really need much help in the tending of his garden, that was out of the question.

"But you are a pretty little thing, a flower, by any other name...," he whispered. "Perhaps I can use you to inspire some of my work. Nothing else has worked so far....," he trailed off sadly, walking away from the staircase and towards the vines iron gate that separated his world from the world of death outside.

That was the beauty of it. Whatever creation he did make would last an eternity. Even when all life outside had extinguished, leaving that world in death and decay, his garden would continue to bloom.

A garden of eternal life, as the child now with him would come to realize soon enough.

"All eternity little one, you will have all eternity to learn!" he sighed.

Eternity was a lonely word.

**********

"First and foremost, would you please calm down!" Jasmine demanded, taking Sadira firmly but gently by the shoulders, and sitting her down.

"How can you expect me to calm down with what's happened? He said he was going to kill her, he...," Sadira started again, wide-eyed and frantic. Nearly ten minutes ago, she had rushed into the palace as if all Hades had broken lose and chased after all. She had rose in on the sand, breaking past the gate and Razoul, who had immediately assembled guards, but had dispensed them when Aladdin and Jasmine had managed to calm Sadira down.

"For one thing, I can help you if you take a deep breath and tell me who 'he' is!" Jasmine suggested gently. "And who 'he' is going to kill!"

"AINI! DON'T YOU GET IT, ARBUTUS WANTS TO KILL AINI!" Sadira screamed, trying to get to the point and go after the Earth Elemental. "Oh...it could already be too late...," she moaned miserably, trying to hold back tears that were threatening to fall at any given moment.

By that time, the entire group had assembled in the grand hall, and a crowd of open-mouthed spectators now watched Sadira in shock.

"Did you say...Arbutus?" Aladdin asked, disbelief clear in his voice. "As in garden-Arbutus, the one who kidnapped Jasmine?" He added, earning him a scowl from the princess.

"But Al, didn't you...I mean....you know....," Genie muttered. "...kill him?"

"Well, we did re-plant his heart afterwards. Or life-source, whatever it was," Jasmine recalled.

"Hello? Are you all going to stand around here debating how he could have come back, or are you going to help me save Ai before he kills her?" Sadira demanded, now more then a little annoyed at their lack of interest in what was in her eyes, a sure tragedy.

"First off all, Arbutus will not kill Aini, so you can put your fears at ease there!" Jasmine said gently.

"What? No, I mean you should have heard him...," Sadira started, but was cut off by Jasmine.

"What exactly happened?"

For the next short while, Sadira sat in front of Aladdin, Jasmine, Carpet, Iago, Abu, Genie, and the Sultan. She explained how she had been teaching Ai to work with the magic scrolls of the sand, and about the small sand storm that had somehow gone out of control and grown into one big sandstorm. Sadira explained that she had failed to grab control of it when Ai had let it go, and the storm had raged off into what they had later discovered had been Arbatus' garden.

"They he popped right out of the ground in front of the temple entrance, made some very believable threats, took Aini, and took off!" Sadira concluded. "So can we please go now, please?"

"I told you....no matter what Arbutus said, I highly doubt he'll kill her! Chances are, he just made you think that to make you feel guilty and thus punish you for an accident he thinks you caused!" Jasmine reassured.

"Jas is right!" Genie agreed. "Look, we can get her back, but we can't just go in there magic-a-blazin' and expect to take Arbutus out! We need a plan. We all know what happened last time we had no plan, and went after him anyway!"

"Yeah, big branchy-sized bruises, and one un necessarily dead Earth Elemental!" Iago muttered.

"Yeah well, this time it could be someone worst that could accidently end up dead!" Jasmine hinted, and everyone grew uncomfortably silent, knowing she was talking about Aini. "Arbutus won't hurt her because she poses no threat to him or his garden. The most that will happen is that Ai will probably be terrified of him, with his quick temper of humans....," Jasmine muttered.

"Never the less, you must save her somehow! Ai may not be a child in the strict sense, but she does not know how to take care of herself like you all do. She will not fare well around Arbutus, and I doubt she will enjoy being kept a prisoner!" The Sultan spoke.

"Alright look. First we'll make some sort of plan, give it a little while. Arbutus will be expecting an attack after this, and with his garden buddies on the alert, we won't stand a chance!" Iago suggested. "Give it a little while, a few days at the most."

"A FEW DAYS? ARE YOU INSANE?" Sadira screamed, but Genie put a hand on her shoulder to silence her.

"I hate to say it kiddo, but big-beak is right! We can't just go in with no plan, and with Arbutus ready for an attack."

Sadira fell quiet for a moment, debating all that had been said and weighting it around in her mind. She hated to admit it, but the argument against her was logical. Arbutus would be powerful, that further fueled by his recent hatred of having his plants and flowers crispified at the power of the sand storm. He would also be expecting something, and going after him without a plan at a time like the present would not be very smart.

"Three days! Three days to come up with a plan, let that plant-freak cool down, and then get Ai back. After three days, I find him myself, with or without the rest of you!" Sadira finally spoke, her voice menacing. She meant exactly what she said.

Aladdin nodded, and the group set to deciding what was to be done.

**********

Aini woke up to the bright rays of the sun shining behind her closed eyelids. She felt wonderfully warm and comfortable, more so then she had ever felt in her life, even in Jasmine's beautiful palace.

For a moment, she was confused as to where she was, and sat up quickly. However, her memory returned to moment she caught proper sight of her surroundings and realized she was in the gazebo.

Ai stood, walking to the edge and looking out towards the garden. The strange lights that had kept it so dimly lit the previous night had gone, replaced in favor of the natural sunlight peaking over the horizon and brightening the garden for her to see.

Suddenly, Aini recalled who had brought her here, and wondered where Arbutus had gone to. While she wasn't exactly brimming with excitement at the idea of seeing him again, if he was the only other person here to talk to, she figured it would be nice to be on better terms with him.

Especially since she strangely, didn't feel much like a prisoner.

Climbing down the staircase, she set towards the small stream nearby, washing the last remnants of sleep from her eyes and temporarily blinding herself with the cold water. She reached down to wipe the clear water off her cheeks with a corner of her dress, and her hand grasped a cloth-like material.

Assuming it was the corner of her dress, she brought it up and dried her face with it gently.

"You know, some would consider that rude!"

The flat, humor-less voice startled her so badly she shook, her eyes flying upwards and meeting the almost frighteningly tall frame of Arbutus.

A little too late did she realize that was still holding on to a corner of his robe.

Aini felt her cheeks burn painfully, looking down with the knowledge she was probably bright red from embarrassment.

"I'm...s..sorry! I t...thought...," she started, not finishing when Arbutus cut her off.

"Never mind that! Tell me, how was your first night in my garden?" He asked. "Did you not like the sleeping accommodations I laid out for you?"

Aini blinked.

"Is that why you were up and about during the night?" He reminded, a small sneer appearing on his lips.

Aini shivered, her eyes falling back down to the floor. She bit her lip, feeling more and more embarrassed at moving about during the night.

"I c..couldn't...," she stopped, a bit too intimidated by Arbutus staring her down to continue.

"Why do you stutter so much?" He asked, a bit annoyed. He paused suddenly when he noticed her clenching and unclenching her fists, and shivering slightly. At first, he had thought it was simply from the morning coolness in the air, yet now, he could see a completely different motivation behind it.

Strangely, it disturbed him.

"You're afraid of me!" It was a statement that made her look up in shock, eyes big and green and full of the fear that Arbutus had guessed at. "No, not afraid are you little one? Not at all....but terrified."

There was an incredibly uncomfortable silence then, and each second that went by seemed more painful then the next for Aini, who continued to look back at Arbutus, though unable to look him in the eyes. Instead, she concentrated on the thorns that jutted out from the strange, shield-like object draped around his chest.

When his long fingers brushed her cheek, Aini was so badly startled she gasped. Yet to her immense surprise, she didn't pull away.

"You know, this place is one of life. Life that can last...a very, very long time! Like every flower here, it will not be extinguished by any natural means. This is the place that you will live in from now on.....and I live here as well. This garden and I are a part of each other, and you are a part of us now, in a way....," he trailed off, trying to find the right words to finish of the rather strange speech he had started.

Ai's gaze had softened as Arbutus' hand lightly stroked her cheek.

"There is nothing to fear here, certainly not with the immense amount of fear you have inside you!" Arbutus murmured gently, his almost musical voice easing Aini's fear. "Like everything in this garden, I will look after you!"

All was silent once more, and Aini found her fear had eased away completely, replaced instead with an odd warmth that had started at her cheeks and now rested around her chest. After a moment, her mouth lifted slightly in a small smile, and when Arbutus offered her his hand, she took it gratefully and rose off of her kneeling position on the ground.

"Thank you!" She spoke shyly, barely above a whisper. But the stutter had vanished.

**********

Next, Sadira and co. make up a plan in the span of three days. Arbutus finds himself growing more and more fond of Aini.


	5. Watching You, Watching Me

****

If There Be Thorns

****

By Maggie Griffin

CHAPTER 5: Watching You, Watching Me

********** 

"What could we use against an elemental anyway?" Aladdin asked. "I don't want to end up doing…well, what happened last time." There was a guilty look in his eyes, as if deep down he knew that what had happened could have somehow been averted, had he listened to Jasmine.

"It wasn't your fault Aladdin! It wasn't anyone's fault. What happened was just a big mistake, and one that can be rectified if we do things the right way this time around!" Jasmine said softly, putting a comforting hand on Aladdin's shoulder. He was slumped up against the palace wall, looking up at the sky as if expected the answers to all his problems to fly down from the heavens and hit him in the face.

"We have to go about it some other way, don't we?" Aladdin sighed, his voice filled with the emotions present in his eyes. "I know you all want something different. Sadira wants to up and attack, Iago wants to leave the whole thing as is, Genie wants to go help Ai, and me….well, I just don't know. What do you want Jasmine?"

Jasmine paused momentarily, reflecting on what Aladdin had just said, and weighting the positions present before them. Each person wanted something different, wanting to come to Aini's aid somehow.

"Last time, I could have reasoned with him…," she trailed off, her eyes sinking to the floor with a forlorn sigh.

"So why don't we try? If it nearly worked last time. It was my fault that it didn't turn out, and we all almost died. Maybe this time around you can convince him….we both can!"

Jasmine shook her head, unable to decide but knowing that he was right. Perhaps reasoning was the answer in this case.

"We would of course, have to tell him Sadira wasn't responsible. That it was Aini…," she trailed off, worry creasing her features.

"And an accident! A horrible accident I know Ai would take back in a second if given the chance. She's so different Jas, we've all seen that. Maybe Arbutus will see she didn't mean it!" Aladdin cut in.

"Well in any case, we can't allow Sadira to go off after them alone. It will only make things a lot worst. There's no need to start a war with Arbutus about this, especially since people we love could be caught in the cross-fire!" Jasmine debated, trying to make her mind up.

"Then…we try to reason with him?" Aladdin asked.

"Providing we can find his garden. I sent Genie to check out where we last met him, but he's not there!" Jasmine sighed. "So he probably moved someplace he would feel safer….further from Agrabah!"

"Finding him won't be the hard part. Talking to him however….," Aladdin trailed off, shooting Jasmine a worried look.

****

********** 

"These are a special sort of blossom, growing only in specific parts of the world, most extremely difficult to get to!" Arbutus lectured, rather enjoying himself for the last hour. The day had passed by peacefully, and his mood had brightened to a serene acceptance of the strange girl with him.

"You have so many, their pretty!" Ai smiled as she touched a petal of the beautiful pink flower gently, aware that Arbutus was burning his sight into her back, and that being under constant surveillance meant no getting in any more humiliating trouble.

"Indeed!" he replied softly, smiling when Ai looked up at him. "I am an Earth Elemental you know, I can grow any plant or flower you fathom here in my garden!" he felt a slight swell at his ego when Ai's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?"

"Of course! Tell me, what sort would you like to see? Give me the name of any flower and I will give it to you!"

The hidden connotation of the phrase escaped Ai's attention, being engrossed in what Arbutus had said as she was.

"Any flower?" she asked, her eyes wide and naïve in the daylight. Arbutus laughed softly and nodded. "Pansies?"

At the inquiry, Arbutus arched his eyebrows, then rolled his eyes. 

"Come now, surely you don't want me to be so unoriginal. Give me some credit please!" he mock-chided her, though a thin smile had begun to melt through his sarcastic sneer. "Honestly, you humans, no imagination at all!"

"I have i..imagination!" Ai said through a crooked grin, her cheeks turning red again. "Fine…I've heard of…Mandrake!?"

"Ah, a supposedly deadly root, made from the seed of a dead human man!" Arbutus quoted, his knowledge of plants endless. At the phrase, Ai's face burned bright red, and she giggled nervously. "Very well little one!"

With a wave of his hand, a root extended itself off the ground, growing into a rather ugly little plant that rested on the ground in front of Ai.

"Not a very pretty little thing, is it?" Arbutus spoke with a hint of disdain in his voice.

"Well, it can't help that!" Ai defended, looking down at the plant but not taking much interest in touching it, lest the myth behind its creation was true. Somehow, the idea was not very appealing.

"No…no it can't," Arbutus said softly, the look of disdain that had clouded his face moments before replaced in favor of one of surprise, if not a strange sort of admiration. He seemed to be thinking about something, his mouth open and closing a few times. "You…," he started, shutting his mouth quickly and shaking his head. "Never mind my little one….never mind!"

Aini looked at him quizzically, but shrugged and went back to looking at the Mandrake in fascination, wondering what was so deadly about something so small.

Arbutus continued looking down at her, while she was blissfully unaware of his gaze. He took the moment to study her further, coming to conclusions that had not crossed him mind before.

His eyes trailed over her hair, which fell unruly around her back and shoulders in dark black and brown curls, shining strangely in the sun. Much like he liked to refer to her as, she was rather short, her height no more then five feet, and rather average in weight, neither too thin or too stocky.

It was her face that caught his attention most however.

A full face, naïve with a pair of full lips that when she set them together, looked rather like an adorable pout.

Then her eyes.

He had noticed them first when she had stared wide at him in terror upon his arrival by the temple of Sand. He had grasped her small body in his hand, bringing her up to see her face-to-face when he had made himself grow an immense size.

Her eyes were the oddest colour, one he had never seen on anyone in a long time. The brightest shade of green, mixed with a darker shade near the top and outlining her irises.

"Beautiful….," he whispered, not aware he had said anything at all.

Ai looked back towards him, having heard him say something, but not hearing what it had been.

"Hmm?"

"Oh…nothing!" At that point, Arbutus was rather glad he was incapable of blushing. That didn't stop him from feeling an obvious warmth in his face. "Nothing at all….," he trailed off, turning away slowly to hide the shocked expression settling on his face.

Disbelief at the feeling he was experiencing. 

~Not for a human, not…~ he thought to himself, shaking his head slightly to try to make it fade.

"Are you alright?" Ai asked, seeing the strange expression on his face. His eyes had narrowed, and the look he was giving her had Ai unsure of whether he should be feeling a good or bad sort of nervous.

Nervous, all the same.

"Hm? Oh, yes I'm fine!" Arbutus shook of the feeling, his lips breaking into a respectful smile once again. "Just pondering as to what sort of art I should try next!"

"Oh!" Ai grinned, eager to explore more of the garden. "Can I go look around more?"

"I suppose….," Arbutus trailed off, squinting his eyes in seriousness. "Providing you stay within the garden, and take care where you tread!"

Aini nodded eagerly, and ran off down a path without another word. She vanished into a bush seconds later, and Arbutus suspected she was headed towards the waterfall he had showed her earlier. She had taken a rather large liking to it, and he debated adding more around the garden.

Momentarily, Arbutus shut his eyes and listened. Something he had not done for a long time for fear of hearing what he didn't want to. The garden whispered back to him, like children to a father. But their wispy voices echoed together as if in jovial laughter, giggling about a private little joke.

"What?" He asked, slightly annoyed by the odd laughter.

But the garden said nothing, silencing as quickly as it had started, leaving Arbutus to ponder the laughter on his own. 

And a little way off, where Ai sat down by the waterfall and looked into the crystalline waters, the branches and leaves of the trees around her stretched forward slightly, as if trying to touch her.

She didn't notice, not even when the childish laughter began around her. 

****

********** 

Next, Jasmine and Aladdin plan to reason with Arbutus, who isn't too keen on giving Ai up.


	6. Clouded Hatred

****

If There Be Thorns

By Maggie Griffin

CHAPTER 6: Clouded Hatred

********** 

Days passed rather uneventfully in the garden. Days and night came and went, until two and a half days had gone by. In the span of that time, Arbutus had reached a new sense of enlightenment with Aini, who had finally gotten over her fear of him. 

Indeed, they had spent more and more time together, either alone only when the other wanted some solitude. Ai would often run off and remain by herself for long periods of time. Hours, sometimes. It worried Arbutus more and more as time crawled by. Time in the garden had no significance after all, and the last two days had seen like much longer.

Now, noon had approached, and cast the garden in a yellow-orange glow. Noon was the time when the garden bloomed at its most beautiful. The mid-day sun enveloped everything in the same wonderous glow, making everything look even more magical.

On that day, Arbutus had decided to interrupt Aini during one of her solitary moments, determined to know what had been bothering her. While she still retained her sweet, naïve demeanor, she had become strangely sad, and although she never treated him any less sweetly then the first time she had reached for his hand, the hollow look in her eyes was becoming something distressing.

Sure as he had guessed, Arbutus found Aini seated down by the waterfall. She was kneeling at its edge, her hand sliding along the cool water casually, watching the gentle fall of the droplets as they made their way down the fall.

"Arbutus?"

He seated himself next to her, and turn to look at her quizzically.

"Yes?" He asked, seeing the somewhat sad expression on her face. "What's the matter?"

"How come there are no fish in the water?" She asked, indicating with a sweep of her hand to the empty waves below. "Or animals around here? Like birds, or mice or something….," she trailed off.

"Well, I would hardly like mice roaming around here!" Arbutus chuckled, but coughed uneasily when he saw her expression fall. "Your lonely….aren't you?" 

When she said nothing, and looked instead back down to the water, Arbutus sighed sadly. 

"Your unhappy here!" He stated simply, his face becoming serious. At his words, Aini spun around to look at him, her eyes wide with shock.

"Oh n…no! Not at all. Please don't think that. I'm really very happy here, more then I've ever been in any other place," she said, her voice becoming softer as she finished. A small smile curved her lips, easing Arbutus' mood slightly.

"Then…what's the matter?" He asked, his voice once again gentle, and he had seen how the idea of her unhappiness around him distressed her. "Perhaps you are not unhappy about being here with…me. But, there's something wrong. Please Aini, tell me!" He implored her, now desperate to know.

There was a moment of silence, in which Aini simply looked into his eyes blankly. She stood with a tired sigh, her shoulders shrugged down as if she felt a guilt over her sadness.

"See, I never had anyone who ever cared about me! I was abandoned by my parents when I was little. They left me in an empty street in the middle of the night, and never came back….," she paused momentarily, as if remembering caused her some deep rooted pain.

"Oh my Ai….," Arbutus whispered, aware that it was the first time he had used her name instead of calling her 'little one'. "My flower…." He couldn't bring himself to continue, not knowing what to say to comfort her.

Aini shook her head, as if the memory was not to be taken as seriously as she made it sound, and continued on.

"Anyway, from then I was always by myself. I was…always so scared. The first real friends I ever met were Sadira. You met her already, the first time I saw you!" She stated gently, knowing the mention of Sadira might have angered him. However, his face remained the same, a slightly sad look present on his features. "Well, then she helped me make friends with others. Like Jasmine and Aladdin…"

"Jasmine?" The hiss in the question caught Ai off guard so badly she actually stopped breathing for a couple of seconds, and backed away a few small paces. "Did you say…Jasmine?"

Aini gulped nervously, not at all liking the expression that had come across Arbutus' face the moment she had said Jasmine's name. His eyes had narrowed dangerously, and his hands, which had hung freely at his sides moments before, had become tight fists.

"Y…y…yes!" She squeaked, her fear rising again as she saw a sneer come over Arbutus' lips, revealing the fang-like teeth hidden underneath.

"Princess….Jasmine?" Each word seemed difficult to him, as though he was trying his best to force them out but was having difficulty anyway.

Aini nodded, preferring not to talk anymore. Somehow, she knew if she tried she would not be able to speak clearly. The look on his face scared her so badly, she momentarily thought he was going to lash out at her.

Arbutus' face had darkened with shadows where there had previously been the light of a smile. He was breathing heavily, clenching and unclenching his fists. His eyes were narrowed, and seemed to almost be glowing a dark, unreal colour. 

When he took a step forward, Aini couldn't help but step back away from him, a small whimper escaping her lips. She debated turning and bolting away to hide until his strange mood escaped him, but somehow she doubted she would get very far.

~Why is he so angry? Why when I said her name?~ Her thoughts screamed clearly, although her natural voice came out cracked and broken.

"A….A…Ar…Arbutus?"

She remained frozen to the floor beneath her, and watched as Arbutus turned his eyes back to her, finally noticing the terrified expression on her face. He froze, not moving for a moment, and he continued staring at her.

"Oh Gods….I am so sorry!" 

In seconds, his entire dark demeanor seemed to disintegrate, as if he had simply shrugged off the hatred that had seemed to be swallowing him only seconds before. The darkness left his face and his eyes, and his body relaxed.

Instead, there appeared on his face a look of intense sorrow, and he backed away a few paces from Aini, who's own expression of fear had been replaced with one of utter confusion. 

"A..Arbutus. What's the matter?" she managed to steady her face enough to ask.

When he sunk to the floor, the sudden movement caught Aini off guard, who gasped as she watched him sink down, his flowing robed covering the earth. 

"Arbutus?" Ai gasped, her eyes widening in fear as she watched him tilt his face towards the earth, his hands clawing at the ground underneath them, leaving scars in the earth.

No sight had ever affected Ai as badly as the one she was looking at right then. It was almost inhumanly disturbing, seeing someone whom she had came to understand as a proud, powerful creature to simply submit to their emotions to badly. As if the grace that had held the elemental up moments before had fallen.

Not being able to watch the spectacle from the sidelines any longer, Aini ran the few short steps towards Arbutus, who continued to look downward. He only looked up when Ai's face leaned down to look upside down at him.

"What….," he started gently, seeing she had come to rest on the earth beside him.

Her eyes had tears in them, as if seeing him in such a bad state seemed to affect her worst then it affected him.

  
"P…please. I didn't mean to make you sad!" she whimpered, a few stray tears escaping down her cheeks. "I'm sorry….," she trailed off, and Arbutus almost gasped in shock when she threw her arms around him in a tight embrace, hiding her face in the folds of his robe.

An akward moment followed, but Arbutus found himself returning the embrace, sliding his arms around her waist and drawing her closer still.

"Don't be! It's not your fault. It was a very long time ago, and I should have controlled myself!" He spoke, the gentle tone having returned to his voice.

There was a muffled whimper from the form huddled against him, and Arbutus sighed, leaning his head down against her hair.

"Let me explain everything!"

In the long while that followed, Aini rested against Arbutus, listening intensly to every word he conveyed to her. Listening in shock, fear, and sadness as the conclusion of the nearly impossible tale came about.

"He…killed you…," she spoke softly, disbelief in her voice.

Arbutus nodded, his head still resting against hers.

"Yes, and left my garden dead!"

In the distance, the sun had set, and the third day was just over the horizon.

****

**********

Next, Aladdin, Jasmine, and Sadira arrive at Arbutus' garden, but a small mistake prones grounds for an all-out war….


	7. Nothing Hurts Like...

IF THERE BE THORNS

By Maggie Griffin

  
  


CHAPTER 7: Nothing Hurts Like....

  
  


**********

  
  


The sun had set on the second day, and night had covered the sky with a dark blue blanket. Behind the gates of a hidden kingdom, beneath the cool covers of thick green foliage, lay hidden a secret world. And in this world, two separate beings stood together from the highest point, looking down at the earth below.

  
  


"I'm sorry about earlier...," Aini murmured shyly, her eyes looking down towards the ground, tracing the patterns of the leaves with her eyes.

  
  


Arbutus turned his face to look at her. As he did, the shadows of the gazebo played across his dark features, making them appear almost ghastly. Frightening to any on-looker who would have crossed his path. But Aini felt no fear. She continued looking down, her eyes narrowed slightly in sadness.

  
  


"How many times must I say that it wasn't your fault?" Arbutus spoke softly. Though his tone was in no way spiting, Aini still winced. Arbutus sighed, and put an arm around her slender shoulders, pulling her closer to him as they stood side by side.

  
  


The action had originally been intended as one of friendly comfort, but as Aini continued to look outward sadly, Arbutus found himself becoming increasingly nervous at their proximity.

  
  


~I should have re-considered that....~ He thought with a wince.

  
  


Aini didn't seem to notice his discomfort, her hands resting gently on the railing of the gazebo.

  
  


She suddenly caught him off guard as she turned slightly, and brought her arms up, hugging him tightly, until her arms were linked around his back, and her head rested lightly on the shielded part of his chest, right below one of the first extended thorns. He was a might taller then her, so when he finally composed himself enough to lean down and return the naive affection, he had to lean down slightly. He rested his head on her hair again, reminded of the time by the bank of the waterfall.

  
  


His hold tightened unconsciously. 

  
  


"You should sleep now...," he murmured suddenly, his voice coming out soft and a bit choked. 

  
  


Ai pulled away then, gazing up at him with a smile and those same almond-shaped, emerald doe's-eyes. 

  
  


"Okay!"

  
  


She moved away from him, lying herself down on the bed of leaves and flower petals in the centre of the gazebo, as she had done for the past two days.

  
  


"Good night Aini!" Arbutus said softly, looking down at her with a gentle smile.

  
  


"Good night Arbutus!" she answered back smiling so sweetly that it reached her eyes, and they shone in the darkness.

  
  


Arbutus stood perfectly still for the moment, simply looking at her eyes.

  
  


"Goodnight...," he whispered once more, then turned and headed out to the staircase, his robes flowing behind him as he left.

  
  


**********

  
  


"Tomorrow morning! I don't care what you say Aladdin! Unless you are ready tomorrow at dawn, I go on my own. If Arbutus thinks that sand storm Aini caused was something....he won't believe what I do to his precious garden if he's hurt a hair on her head!" Sadira spoke, anger seething in every word.

  
  


The throne room had in the last six hours, become a scene for strategic battle. Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie, Iago, Abu, Sadira, and the Sultan had debated their plans and strategies since that morning, rejecting each one so far.

  
  


Of course, most of Sadira's strategies had taken to the old gung-ho technique. That they should attack Arbutus magic a-blazing and come out victorious with Aini back by their side.

  
  


However, Aladdin had sided with Jasmine, and they had worked out a more-or-less workable plan. One that would hopefully not involve going all out and covering the Garden in a river of sand, right along with its creator. Getting Sadira's co operation had been a bit difficult. Particularly since Genie had sided with the Witch of the Sand, himself determined to avenge Aini if any wrong had been done to her.

  
  


They would stick with negotiating first. Knowing that once calmed, Arbutus would be easier to deal with then simply all-out attacking him. They all agreed that they didn't want to put Ai in any sort of danger.

  
  


"We're agreed then?" Jasmine asked for the final time, looking in turn at each faced that looked back at her. Most had grim expressions on their faces, but each nodded in turn.

  
  


"Then in the morning we'll go!" Aladdin spoke, Genie levitating at his side. "It should be simple enough to locate the garden, since Sadira remembers the direction the sand storm broke!"

  
  


Sadira nodded.

  
  


"We'll do the talking. But if he refuses to negotiate...," Sadira trailed off, her eyes narrowing, "or if he's hurt her...."

  
  


There was no need to voice her thoughts. Everyone knew what she was thinking.

  
  


If Arbutus had hurt Aini. Or worst.

  
  


There would be no negotiating.

  
  


**********

  
  


The night stretched out, long and always endless.

  
  


Arbutus did not sleep. Indeed, he never slept. His state of being, part of the earth, kept him eternally awake and alert. But he never tired, and never felt the need to sleep, so it didn't bother him.

  
  


He never felt all that lonely either. He had always had his children, his plants and flowers after all. But looking back, he realized that even surrounded by his creations, he had been experiencing a sort of sadness he had never really admitted to himself. Had longed for someone to talk to.

  
  


When he had taken Jasmine, she had seemed like the ideal addition to his family at first. The flower who walked and talked, and possessed a compassion no other human he had ever encountered had shown. A deeper understanding of his sorrows.

  
  


All a lie.

  
  


He had died at the tip of her lover's sword, with her looking onward.

  
  


He shook his head, trying to clear the image out of his thoughts. The more he dwelt on such past betrayals, the more his fury mounted. He had no wish to lose his temper as he had by the waterfall. No wish for a repetition of the fear he had seen in Aini's eyes.

  
  


"My spring flower....," he smiled sadly, shaking his head. "Poor...naive child."

  
  


He found himself back at the base of the gazebo, and felt a light sense of deja-vu as his fine hand reached out and touched a corner of the railing, looking upwards to where the girl slept. It was like it had been the first night.

  
  


So little time had passed, yet it seemed much longer.

  
  


He climbed the steps up, and stood in the shadows. Watching her sleep, he was able to admire her freely, comfortable and sure that she was unaware of his late-night visit. Of his eyes roaming over her peaceful face, her flowing hair....

  
  


He moved out of the darkness, and came to kneel at her side.

  
  


It was strange, this feeling inside him.

  
  


He leaned down, his face hovering over hers for a moment before his lips brushed hers gently. 

  
  


Arbutus straightened himself quickly, rising to stand at his full height, breathing heavily. The laughter around him had started anew. His children had seen him, and could see inside him. Whatever they knew...indeed, whatever they understood, they kept to themselves however.

  
  


Arbutus wished he knew. Wished he understood.

  
  


He was finding it hard to breathe evenly.

  
  


Finally, he turned, and made his way quickly out of the gazebo. He was unable to stand being in Ai's sleeping presence any longer. At least not for that night.

  
  


Not if he had fallen in love with her.

  
  


**********

  
  


The next morning brought a simultaneous order of events. While Aini was awaking in her bed of flowers, smiling to greet the morning sun, Arbutus was trying his best to find some distraction for the day that would make him forget his actions the previous night. While life bloomed in the garden, it ran in chaos as in Agrabah, Aladdin and Jasmine prepared what would hopefully be a peaceful rescue mission.

  
  


Regardless of possible peace, Sadira still prepared an assortment of the most powerful spells she could find deep in her underground temple. 

  
  


"Just in case...," she muttered to herself as she memorized the writings on the scrolls to perfection, confident that if the need arose, she would rise to a more then formidable offence. 

  
  


They met then, at the edge of Agrabah, where the city connected to the wide desert. And onward, where far away, Arbutus' garden was hidden somewhere, along with Aini.

  
  


"Ready?" Jasmine asked each of them. Sadira and Genie nodded. Abu and Iago, who were both standing by Aladdin, also nodded in agreement. 

  
  


"Alright then!" Aladdin spoke with a worried feeling clenching at his mind. "Carpet!"

  
  


The carpet flew down from the sky, where it had been circling for the last ten minutes as the group had made any last-minute final arrangements.

  
  


Aladdin, Jasmine, Iago and Abu sat themselves on it. Sadira and Genie using magic to create their own alternate methods of trasport.

  
  


Sadira riding a gust of sand, with Genie flying along side.

  
  


Carpet set off at top speed.

  
  


**********

  
  


When the sun arose the next morning, Ai couldn't find Arbutus. She called out for him, but nobody answered her calls.

  
  


Finally, she went looking for him. Searching through various parts of the garden. She had thought she would find him by the waterfall, but he was not there. After much searching, she finally found him in one of the more shrouded parts of the garden. 'His section' as compared to the brighter, more livelier parts she preferred. 

  
  


"Arbutus!" She exclaimed happily, spotting him as he attempted to work another creation.

  
  


He turned to look at her as he heard he call his name, and smiled weakly.

  
  


"Good morning Ai. Sleep well?" He asked.

  
  


Aini blinked, sensing a slight edge to his voice that differed from the usual way he spoke to her. He sounded somewhat nervous.

  
  


"Fine....are you alright?" She asked, her eyes darkening with concern.

  
  


"I....," he paused, unable to continue. If he had tried to tell her he was fine, he knew he would have just been lying. "Never-mind! Aini, I have some work to do, please leave me be!" he spoke, his voice a bit harder then he had intended it.

  
  


~Gods...what am I saying?~

  
  


"A...Arbutus?"

  
  


His request had left her worried, and somewhat hurt. His tone had hardened, as though he was angry at her.

  
  


"Please go Ai! Now!" His voice rose then, before he could stop himself. Instantly, he felt disgust well inside him for taking his frustration out on her. He opened his mouth to apologize, but heard Ai turn and dart away before he had the opportunity to.

  
  


She vanished behind some flowered bushes, and Arbutus instantly made his mind up and moved to follow after her, determined to apologize for his lack of self-control.

  
  


~Why don't I just tell her? What harm could it do just to tell her?~ He wondered as he followed after her.

  
  


His pace didn't run to an all-out run until he heard her cry out in pain.

  
  


"AINI?"

  
  


His cry of concern escaped his lips in seconds, and he spotted her half-lying on the ground, holding her arm tightly. Tears had spilled down her cheeks, and her lips shivered slightly.

  
  


"Ai? Are you alright?" He asked, nearly tripping over her as he glided over to her.

  
  


"I..I...it hurts...," she murmured, looking down at her arm.

  
  


He could see the deep gash now, and blood had begun to flow over the ground and onto her clothes. He glanced to the side, seeing the slightly sharp tree branch she had caught her arm on, cutting it as she had ran by. The tree brunch was dripping slightly with blood as well. A torn piece of her cloak hung from it.

  
  


It created a rather startling affect, as though she had been attacked by some unseen force. It made Arbutus shiver to think of it.

  
  


He moaned in anger at himself.

  
  


~How could I have allowed this to happen? I'm such an...~

  
  


"I'm s..sorry. I never meant to make you m..mad. I didn't know y..you wanted to be left...a..alone!" Aini stuttered, more tears spilling over her cheeks, drowning the words she spoke.

  
  


Arbutus stared at her in shock, not believing what she had just said.

  
  


~She's hurt...bleeding because of my own callous insensitivity...and apologizing for it?~

  
  


He couldn't stand it any longer.

  
  


Arbutus knelt close to her, taking Aini by the shoulders, careful not to touch the sensitive wound. When she turned her face up slightly to look at him in a mixture of sorrow and confusion, he took the chance.

  
  


Inching forward, he pressed his mouth to her lips fully, and kissed her.

  
  


**********

  
  


The flight took half a day, much shorter then it had previously. By the time carpet arrived at the gates to the Garden, it was exhausted.

  
  


Aladdin and the rest of the group were forced to leave it outside, knowing trying to use carpet during this time would be unwise, seeing as it was liable to fall out of the sky at any given moment.

  
  


After giving Sadira one last strict lecture about using her power unless it was absolutely necessary, they proceeded inside, knowing the Garden could see them.

  
  


It was different from the last time they had been there. Somewhat fuller, the plants and flowers far more lush and green then previously. As if from the ashes of death had sprung life far more powerful then its ancestor.

  
  


They walked along side each other, mindful to their surroundings, making sure they didn't tear any leaves of step on any flowers. The Garden remained peaceful, at least for the moment. It did nothing but observe, sensing no danger from the intruders. 

  
  


"Where to from here?" Aladdin asked, turning a full circle. Had carpet been able to come along he would have probably already found Ai, but so far, they had done little else but wander around aimlessly.

  
  


"Hang on Al...look!" Genie pointed upwards, and Aladdin squinted his eyes against the sun to see where he was pointing to.

  
  


"What is that?" Iago asked. "It looks like some sort of weird house!"

  
  


Indeed, rising above all other foliage around them, the structured gazebo shone in the sun, indicating the exact centre of the garden.

  
  


"I don't know about you...but I think that if we're going to find Arbutus anywhere, that's the place to start!" Genie spoke.

  
  


"It might be a bit of a long walk! So let's go!" Jasmine indicated to a small path to the side, which would lead them to their destination.

  
  


**********

  
  


Aini couldn't stop the blush that had spread around her cheeks, not that she wanted to stop what was happening.

  
  


She still half-lay on the ground, but thoughts of her very painful wound were rather lost to her at that moment. Her attention was drawn to Arbutus.

  
  


He was trying his best to mend her arm at the moment, but finding it rather difficult. 

  
  


Finally, he rose, and helped her stand slowly as well.

  
  


"Come, I believe some healing herbs grow near the centre, I'll be able to mend this better there!" He spoke gently, then took her by the waist and led her towards the gazebo.

  
  


As they walked along, Ai was trying to sort out what exactly was going on. He had been angry with her...or perhaps just upset over some reason. Then he had.... She shook her head, not really able to grasp what had happened. Now as they walked side-by-side, she wondered if she had imagined the whole thing, vivid as it had been.

  
  


She remembered his hand cupping her face, then holding it still as he kissed her gently. At first, Ai had been too shocked to respond to the kiss at all, but had gradually knocked herself out of it and allowed the kiss to deepen between them.

  
  


A warm feeling resided in her chest now, and her breathing felt strange, uneven. 

  
  


They arrived in the centre, just a bit off from where the gazebo stood. Arbutus concentrated on picking various plants from one corner, looking each over before he walked back to Ai, who felt too nervous to even be able to look him in the face. She was still blushing, her face flushed both from the pain, and her own embarrassment and confusion.

  
  


Arbutus kneeled down, and began to press the strange herbs around the wound. A strange liquid dribbled from the stems of each plant.

  
  


Ai cried out suddenly, jerking her arm away violently. Arbutus shot her an instant look of apology.

  
  


"THAT B..BURNS!" She cried.

  
  


Arbutus was about to apologize to her verbally, when he was interrupted from a shout that came from behind both of them.

  
  


"LET HER GO ARBUTUS!"

  
  


His eyes travelled to the source of the voice, and narrowed as he spied the same woman who he had first seen Aini with.

  
  


"You..," he hissed.

  
  


"I knew you were hurting her....I knew it!" Sadira spoke with fury, her hands forming fists at her side. Her eyes travelled over the tell-tale scene.

  
  


The small puddle of blood, the injury on Aini's arm, her teary, wide eyes. Sadira had heard her cry out in pain.

  
  


Arbutus opened his mouth to object, but was distracted as more figures entered the clearing.

  
  


Genie flew in first, clutching the bit of Ai's torn, bloody cloak that had caught on the tree. His own features were clouded in anger, misplaced though it was.

  
  


It wasn't until the last two forms entered into view that Arbutus' own eyes narrowed in hatred, and he stood over Ai protectively.

  
  


"Jasmine."

  
  


At the sound of her name uttered by the familiar voice, Jasmine's eyes met Arbutus', and she gasped in horror. 

  
  


"Oh no....Sadira was right...," the princess murmured, her hand coming to rest over her lips in shock as she too, spotted the bleeding girl at the Earth Elemental's feet. "Leave her alone Arbutus!" She cried suddenly, running a few steps forward before being stopped by Aladdin, who quickly grasped her arm and pulled her back gently.

  
  


"Let her go! We're just here to get her back Arbutus....," Aladdin started.

  
  


"NO!" Sadira's anger boiled crucially at that point, and she raised her hands high up into the air. "YOU THINK I'M GOING TO LET THAT MONSTER GET AWAY WITH THIS?" She screamed, her fingers curling in malice.

  
  


"WAIT SADIRA!" Ai screamed, but her cry was cut off as the earth beneath them began to rumble violently, breaking apart in jagged cracks beneath their feet.

  
  


From those tears, sand seemed to bleed to the earth above, rushing over the grass like the flow of a lake. As Sadira raised her hands in the air, the sand collected upwards at her command, creating what could have been taken for a giant hammer.

  
  


Arbutus just barely managed to dodge to the side before the hammer descended, connecting back with the ground with an explosive sound. As Sadira raised her arms once more, muttering spells under her breath, Arbutus took the opportunity and summoned his own powers. In an instant, dozens of thick vines had begun to violently wrap themselves around Sadira, choking her.

  
  


However, a powerful stream of energy and magic connected against Arbutus' vines, sending them crashing limply to the ground. 

  
  


Genie flew up beside Sadira, and the two summoned their individual powers. 

  
  


"STOP IT SADIRA!" Jasmine screamed, her own cry deafened in the chaotic noise.

  
  


Sadira's eyes seem to glow a strange white shade as she raised her hands in summoning once more. This time, the sand around them rose in a great tidal wave. It rose upwards until it dwarfed Arbutus' own titanic trees, going over the head of the gazebo.

  
  


Genie used his power to shoot a stream of burning energy into the wave's core, charging it until the desert sand was fiery hot.

  
  


With a scream of fury, Sadira thrust her hands downward, and the great tidal wave descended towards Arbutus.

  
  


**********

  
  


Next....well, that would be telling ^_~

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. For You

IF THERE BE THORNS

By Maggie Griffin  
  


CHAPTER 8: For You  
  


**********  
  


By the time the wave reached its full height, the energy from Genie's blast had loaded it with fiery power, the boiling point breaking inside it, and charging it with a more destructive force then any spell Sadira had ever conjured.   
  


It fell towards the Earth Elemental.  
  


In the chaotic noise and destruction, the events that followed were impossible to register until they were over.  
  


A piercing cry over the torrent of the sand and fire wave, one of torment and denial. Then the cry turned to suffering for a split second before it was choked off completely, searing hot sand sealing the lips forever.  
  


A shout of triumph turned to anguish as the smoke cleared to reveal the battlescene.  
  


Then and only then, could everyone see the truth of what had happened in that crucial moment. Arbutus half-lay on the charred grass some feet away, his face twisted into an expression of horror and disbelief.  
  


Sadira had collapsed on her knees, her lips trembling and her eyes widened in shock.  
  


Moments later, a combination of hysterical screaming filled the garden.  
  


Aini was not amongst those screaming.  
  


Not was she amongst those that watched on in silent anguish.  
  


Her fragile body lay, still and at peace. Buried.  
  


In that moment, all was made clear in the subsiding chaos. Ai had thrown Arbutus out of the way, but fallen before she herself could have dodged to safety from the fiery sands that descended from the sky above. Buried.  
  


"N...no...," Arbutus managed to stammer. "No..."  
  


"AINI.....," Sadira was the first to move, launching herself the short distance away from the sandy heap before them, her hands digging furiously at the overflow. As she tried, they slowly formed burned callouses. "AI?"  
  


"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Arbutus had moved in moments, and shoved Sadira to the side so violently she landed on her shoulder with a pained cry.  
  


Jasmine and Aladdin stood side by side, not daring to move. To even speak. Jasmine's eyes had misted over with tears that threatened to flow freely over her cheeks. Tears that would take long to dry once they began to fall.  
  


"What have we done...," she moaned, her voice barely above a whisper. Strained with sorrow.  
  


Arbutus dug with renewed fury, cursing ever grain of sand his hands parted. Every bit of magic that sparked around him as he worked feverishly to try and save the creature that lay, already dead. Buried.  
  


A choked moan escaped his lips suddenly, as from the sand emerged a small hand, sand flowing freely in between the slim fingers.   
  


Over the deep red and brown burns.  
  


Arbutus froze, his hand coming up slowly to touch the fingers that emerged from the sand heap gingerly. To feel their stiffness, their lifelessness.   
  


He turned, and shut his eyes tightly. If he had been human, he would have gagged from the turmoil of emotions that filled him that moment. He did not need to dig further to know there would be no saving her. Somewhere within that sand, Ai lay dead. Her body burned by the scorching grains of sand, filled with the heat and power of hatred. Misguided, foolish hatred. A hatred she had died to stop.  
  


Arbutus didn't want to dig her up. He did not want to see her ruined body. Nevertheless, he sat to once more, his actions much slower but all the more laboured. He owed her that much. Owed her the respect of a burial outside the hatred that had destroyed her.  
  


Jasmine stepped forward, coming to kneel beside Arbutus to help him dig. They worked together in silence for a few moments, recovering more and more of Ai.  
  


"Arbutus, I'm so....," Jasmine started, the tears long started to flow down her red cheeks.  
  


Arbutus did not turn to face her. "Shut up!" He spoke before she could finish, his voice tone-less and hollow.  
  


Jasmine stayed silent.  
  


They worked for nearly an hour before they managed to uncover her. By that time, every person in the garden, from the life that had invaded it that day, to the plants that made it their home, had begun to dig. The sand had cooled slowly, making it easier on them. Nevertheless, the small burns they did obtain bothered noone, and nobody dared to complain.  
  


By evening, every grain of sand had been removed from Ai's still body. Sadira had brought her cloak and let it flow down over the small form, no longer able to deal with looking at the consequences of their hatred. It was too much.  
  


"She...she'll be buried properly! We'll take her to Agrabah, and the Sultan...," Aladdin started, kneeling by Ai.  
  


"You will leave her! I will bury her myself...where she loved most. Try to stop me, and I will kill you!" Arbutus broke in. His voice remained tone-less and monotone. But despite that, something deep inside it promised a rage unlike any other should they deny him.  
  


Once again, silence followed.  
  


Night descended, and found them all at the waterfall. The water had darkened, and the flowers no longer laughed. Instead, their remained in the air a heaviness that weighted down everyone that was present. That would weight down anyone that ever stood in that place again.  
  


There, they buried her, in a tightly spun coffin of flowers and vines.   
  


They returned later, to the front gate of the Garden. Some with tears that had been flowing for long, some with an empty, horrible silence that ate them away none the less.  
  


As the intruders left one by one, it was not until they stood on the other side of the gate that Arbutus spoke for the last time.  
  


"She died to stop this. I will not waste her death in pursuing revenge. But I tell you now-and this is a promise, not a warning-that if I see any of you anywhere near here, ever again, I will descend into Agrabah to find you, and your city will see death as it never has!"  
  


With that, he slammed the gates, and thick vines broke the surface beneath it to entwine around the bars, sealing and locking them from the outside forever.  
  


They flew back to the city in silence, nobody talking. When they parted that night, some wept bitterly, while some fell against the walls and sat staring at nothing in particular, clearing their minds and concentrating on a silent sort of mourning.  
  


In his garden, Arbutus stood by the waterfall.  
  


And wept.  
  


**********  
  


Next (YES, it does continue...), Chaos decides to have a say.....


	9. And Then There Was Chaos

IF THERE BE THORNS

By Maggie Griffin

  
  


CHAPTER 9: And Then There Was Chaos

  
  


**********

  
  


It was strange. One would think that with the oncoming of death, darkness would descend and remain everlasting. Where limbo would be forever, or heaven, or hell. Whatever one could choose to believe in.

  
  


Yet, there was light.

  
  


An endless, empty, never-ending light.

  
  


So it was strange. To not know if one was facing front, or backwards, or to the side. To be an entity in this light. Alone, yet knowing there were hundred-thousands-around them. All alone.

  
  


The lone entity floated about, lost and sad.

  
  


~I don't know this place....where am I....~

  
  


It floated place to place, the scenery around it never changing, never meeting another one like it. It never grew hungry, or tired. Never thought of past times because it could not remember what times had come before the light had wakened it here.

  
  


~It was like waking up, wasn't it? Like everything before was a dream, and this is all that ever has been...ever will be?~

  
  


Though it remembered nothing, the little entity knew that there had once been a time before the great light. Before the endless wandering.

  
  


Thoughts floated through and around it, and yet although the entity registered these thoughts, they made so little sense.

  
  


~What am I?~

  
  


**********

  
  


One Year Later....

  
  


Sadira hardly ever left her temple anymore. This being not the case of not being able to, so much as not wanting to. Aladdin and Jasmine had tried to bring her out of the depression Aini's death had caused, but their efforts had been met with a solid wall, impenetrable and thick. At first, they had let the time pass as one of mourning, convinced Sadira would eventually let Ai's memory rest.

  
  


Of course, she would never truly be forgotten. Not by anyone who had been present at her final day, one year before.

  
  


For her part, Jasmine had gone through special means to keep Ai's spirit alive through her own means. In her menagerie, underneath the shade of a beautiful tree, a single grave lay. Although no body resided beneath that earth, flowers were placed ceremonially there each week, keeping them fresh.

  
  


Although Aini's true resting place would never be accessible to any human again, the commemorative grave site was seen as her second resting place, near the palace Ai had made her first-although temporary-home.

  
  


Yet, weeks turned to months, which stretched to endless blazing desert days, and Sadira remained as she had been since the smoke had cleared and Ai had vanished from their lives. Her sorrow had eaten her away.

  
  


In a way, a part of her had died with her friend.

  
  


"You must stop this Sadira....your killing yourself down here!" Jasmine had once tried to reason with her. One look at Sadira had confirmed her fears. The young woman had paled considerably, her lack of sunlight seeming to nearly zap her strength. Her scrolls had collected dust and cobwebs, lying unused around the dark temple.

  
  


Only a year had gone by, yet Sadira had aged. At least on the inside.

  
  


With hopes that Aladdin would be able to knock her out of her stupor, Jasmine had sent him to try and persuade Sadira to come to the palace.

  
  


He had returned a half hour later, the fact that Sadira had not been with him not striking anyone as too surprising. His charms on her seemed to have wore off completely.

  
  


So, a single soul of Agrabah continued her lonely mourning.

  
  


**********

  
  


The gates to the garden were rusted, the vines that had once stretched so tightly against the bars worn to a fine breaking point. Yet they still continued to hold. No doubt forever.

  
  


Sunlight had become scarce, hitting only small areas of the once brightly-lit garden, and pitch-dark once nightfall descended in the evenings. Although not completely neglected, the plant life of the Garden had gained a strange brown tone, as though indicating an approaching Fall season, though none ever came.

  
  


No. The brown tinges found in some plants and flowers were traces of events long past. Traces of death in what should have been a place of life.

  
  


The flowers no longer laughed. The streams no longer whispered. If they did, it was songs of sorrow and loss. If they did, they never stopped. There was no one to hear them anyway. No life had entered the Garden since the locking of the gates.

  
  


Through the shrubbery, that had grown dense and endless, a frame was outlined in the coming moonlight. In the single place where the moonlight could fully hit the ground, unseparated by the shadows of trees and their branches. To bounce off the water that padded softly against a bank of thinned grass. 

  
  


In the year past, the frame seemed to have shrunk considerably. Though still possessing its towering height, the slump of shoulders seemed to take away the rigorous posture that had once been associated with the shadowy figure.

  
  


Arbutus had lost himself.

  
  


His eyes rested on the gentle waves of the water. Once so bright and brimming with some unearthly power, the dark eyes now remained just that. Dark. Empty. As if some passing phantom had come and robbed him of the light that had once resided behind them.

  
  


His strange walk, once a mystical flow over the earth, was somewhat slowed. His sight constantly on the earth. Something had battered him down. 

  
  


It lay at his feet then. Beneath the deep earth, buried for a year in lonely darkness.

  
  


But he still came every nightfall, and stood there. Watching.

  
  


If he could have, he would have rooted himself to that spot for the rest of eternity. But there was no reason to add to the death.

  
  


So when the sun had just began to rise over the horizon, he would look into the water, through the waterfall.

  
  


"I miss you my little one....," his voice no longer shook with the gentle morning farewell, but it still possessed the sadness that had become a part of him.

  
  


And so it was. Every night, until every dawn.

  
  


**********

  
  


The entity stopped its travelling, drawn to a strange blue shape in the distance.

  
  


~What's that?~

  
  


It was a dot. So small it would have normally gone completely un noticed. Yet, here in this endless white, even a drop of colour was an obvious miracle.

  
  


So the little entity made its way towards it, and as it drew closer, so the dot began to take a more distinguished shape. Features appeared in the mould, until the floating thing was before the blue, and could see it clearly.

  
  


"Well....what a sad little think you've become!"

  
  


The voice was different then the voice the little entity associated to itself. This one was slightly deeper, yet held a coolness too it, as though the voice was sure of every single word that left it. As though it were pre-planned.

  
  


~What are you?~ The entity asked as best it could. Though it had no mouth. Though it had no body.

  
  


"I'm Chaos!" The thing was strange. Had the entity known what it was looking at, it would have described it as a blue cat with wings. And a grin that would have shamed a clown. Yet the entity was oblivious to the memories of life before the light, so it knew not what it was looking at.

  
  


~Are you wandering too?~

  
  


The thing called Chaos rumbled, parts of it shaking in laughter, though the little entity did not understand this.

  
  


"No! Looking for you actually! Looking for you...Aini!"

  
  


The entity swirled around Chaos, examining the strange creature. Though it had no eyes. Though it had no body.

  
  


~Aini? What is an Aini?~

  
  


"You!" Chaos remarked simply, his grin never wavering.

  
  


~And what am I?~ The entity inquired, its curiosity peaked.

  
  


"You are Aini!" He responded back, never giving a straight answer.

  
  


Yet his riddle-like conversation didn't disturb the little entity. Indeed, it had been alone for so long, it had lost the realization of what a straight answer was.

  
  


"You don't remember yourself, do you?" Chaos asked, his own blue form floating in the white, flowing around the entity. He was never behind it. Or in front of it. The entity was a whole, it didn't matter which way Chaos floated. It would see him either way.

  
  


~Remember? Remember what?~

  
  


Chaos smirked. "You also ask too many questions, which all have boring, simple answers. Now if you asked me something interesting like say...how you died?"

  
  


~Died?~

  
  


Chaos nodded happily.

  
  


~What is died?~

  
  


The blue cat took a deep breath, and shook its head in mild frustration.

  
  


"I can see having a logical conversation with you won't be simple...how droll!" He rolled his eyes. "I had watched you when you were alive..."

  
  


~What is alive?~ The entity interrupted.

  
  


"When....you were alive...," Chaos continued, shooting the little entity a glare, "...I watched you get dumped in one of the most stereotypical ways. But I kept watching. So you met the Sand Witch. You caused....chaos!" Chaos rumbled with another laugh. ".....and you fell in love!"

  
  


Her flew around the entity, and a darkness suddenly came from beneath.

  
  


And the entity knew what beneath was. For the above was still white, and the below was filling with blackness, wrapping around it slowly. Giving it...feeling.

  
  


"So I watched you die...and I thought to myself, 'what a waste that is!'" Chaos continued. "Of course...I could not send you back in the state you left in...," Chaos winced visibly. "Beyond saving, that body. So we turn back the clock on you by say....oh....two years?"

  
  


The darkness had surrounded the last bit of light, and trapped the little entity inside its shell. It could no longer float off where it wanted.

  
  


"The time will be present, but you will be two years younger. Adds a bit of confusion I think....how delectable!" Chaos crooned.

  
  


Soon, his eyes were all the little entity could see behind the shield of black. They glowed a frightening blue. Searing through the darkness.

  
  


~What is love?~

  
  


The darkness took it away.

  
  


**********

  
  


Next, life returns from death, but the welcomes may be to painful to stand.... 


	10. Take To The Wind

IF THERE BE THORNS

By Maggie Griffin

  
  


CHAPTER 10: Take To The Wind

  
  


Author's Note: I should point out that this chapter contains some 'suggestive' content. Mainly some nudity. The next few chapters may/may not also contain something along those lines. If you can't deal with that....bite me! :) The rest of you, enjoy!

  
  


**********

  
  


It was near nightfall when she awoke. The streets were almost deserted, clearly only meant for those who dealt in something darker then those of everyday life. Cut-throats and thieves, who took to the streets in the night like bats to flight.

  
  


But she did not know this.

  
  


The little creature coughed violently, her wings spreading themselves out around her nude, fragile body.

  
  


~Wings?~

  
  


She blinked, and looked down at herself. Only then did she notice her nakedness, there in that filthy street. But that alone would have been appalling enough, had it not been for the other frightening oddities that struck her.

  
  


~My body...WHAT'S HAPPENED TO MY BODY?~

  
  


Looking down at herself, she could clearly see the chalk-white pallor her skin had become. Instead for the lightly tanned Arabian complexion she had always possessed, there was a flour-whiteness to her skin, as though she were some sort of phantom. Her hair, which had remained its original mix of brown and black, contrasted sharply against her new skin.

  
  


If that alone was not frightening enough, then the new muscles connected to her back certainly were.

  
  


Long white wings extended out from her shoulder blades. Held together by thin bones hidden under pearl-white feathers, which even then were collecting the dust and grime of the earth as they moved weakly against the ground she sat upon. They were large, so much so she could have folded them around her small body quite the way.

  
  


She shivered violently, her breathing coming harder to her, and her head feeling light, as though she were having trouble hanging on to reality.

  
  


"C....C...CHAOS!" 

  
  


Her scream echoed around her, and she saw that despite her new physical additions, she had retained her normal voice, fearful stutter and all.

  
  


"Trouble Aini?"

  
  


The seem to come out of nowhere, and yet before her, materialized the transparent features of the Master of Intrigue. Chaos slowly came to view, making himself seen to the younger girl.

  
  


"Wh...what h..have you done?" Ai managed to stutter, and it truly was her.

  
  


"Whatever do you mean?" Chaos purred, turning upside down lazily as he spoke. "I brought you back to life....I took two years off of your time to recover your ruined body. Are you not pleased?"

  
  


His tone almost angered the smaller girl, but her fear of him kept her from saying anything, and her voice came out a choked, pathetic whimper.

  
  


"But....but what have you done to me?"

  
  


Chaos made a 'tsk noise with his fangs, clicking them together in annoyance, as if her question annoyed him. He stared down at Ai, his eyes narrowing slightly. When he spoke, it sounded as though he were chiding her.

  
  


"What were you expecting? That I simply bring you back human, scratch two years, and off you go?" His form rumbled, and this time Ai recognized it for the low laugh it was. "What sort of fun would that be?"

  
  


Aini's eyes widened in shock, and she felt the wings at her back twitch to her emotional response to Chaos' words. 

  
  


"F...Fun? I d..don't even look like m..me anymore!" Tears filled her eyes, which had remained their crystalline green, despite the rest of her transformation. "I don't...e...even look h...h...human!"

  
  


"And what is so wrong with not being human, Hm?" Chaos demanded, his eyes narrowing even more in anger. "I rather think it's an improvement to your old form!" he huffed.

  
  


"Please....please turn me back!" Ai pleated, begging Chaos, who simply shook his head and looked away as though dismissing the idea completely. "Please...."

  
  


"Here...you'll need these!" Chaos spoke, changing the subject completely as clothing appeared, covering Aini's small form. It was a deep green cloak, and it hid most of her rather well. The hood came to rest over her head, and she found that if she folded her wings tight against her body, they weren't even visible beneath the clothes.

  
  


She stood shakily, holding onto the side wall for support. The new wings added an extra, unfamiliar weight to her body, and she had to keep herself steady carefully, or risk falling over onto her back.

  
  


"You'll get used to it!" Chaos muttered, his joy at what he had created apparently all steamed out.

  
  


"Why did you d..do this?" Ai asked, her voice turning to a neutral tone.

  
  


Chaos shrugged. "Come now. This will add for an all-together fascinating plot twist!" he reasoned, trying to make her feel better about it. "And you will get used to it eventually! You'll even get to like it!"

  
  


"But...how can I show myself to anyone now?" Ai whimpered, her head turned to the floor dejectedly. "How can I l...let anyone see...me?!"

  
  


Chaos chuckled, rolling his eyes. "My, what drama. What will your friends think of you? Indeed....what will that one person think...what was his name again...ah....," Chaos trailed off, looking at Ai pointedly.

  
  


"Arbutus," Aini stated, her eyes widening in realization. "I....I died for him. He think's I'm d...dead, doesn't he? They....they all do," Ai turned her eyes accusingly at Chaos, who had come to smile as Ai had remembered what had happened. "How long? How long have I been gone?" She demanded, fear rising in her voice. Fear of what he would say.

  
  


"A year!"

  
  


Aini swayed violently, and her grasp on the wall was the only thing that saved her from falling in a dead faint. She shook her head in disbelief, not wanting to accept what Chaos was telling her, but knowing she had no choice. Knowing it was the truth.

  
  


"A year...one year? So long....?" She murmured, shaking her head slowly from side to side.

  
  


Chaos nodded with a grin. 

  
  


"How.....," she turned once more to look at Chaos, but the small creature had vanished from sight. "Chaos?"

  
  


When nothing met her to answer, Ai was not at all surprised. She hadn't really expected Chaos to be able to stick around long enough to tell her all he had already spoken. She didn't doubt however, that wherever he was know, he would be watching her closely.

  
  


And for him, the show would go on.

  
  


**********

  
  


For most of the evening, Aini wandered about Agrabah. Many times, her feet had taken her in the direction of the palace, but at the last moment, she had ended up turning to some stray street, and wandering away from it instead. 

  
  


In her heart, she desperately wanted to be re-united with her friends. Desperately wanted to feel the touch of Arbutus' hand on her cheek. But always, she was reminded that her new form would not be accepted among them. That somehow, no matter what, they would not look at her the same way. That they would contain some small seed of doubt that she wasn't really who she claimed to be. Didn't belong among them.

  
  


Arbutus would hate her.

  
  


That thought alone, scarred Aini more then the wounds of her death had.

  
  


"What a cruel trick...," she sighed for what must of been the hundredth time that night. Yet her bare feet kept walking, pushing past the small pebbles and bits of sand that met them. Luckily, they were also covered by the cloak, which dragged slightly behind her, giving her a menacing appearance.

  
  


And so, her feet took her to many places in the city, and yet it was when she stood at the entrance to a well-known place that she paused.

  
  


The Cloak and Dagger.

  
  


During her humanity, as she liked to think of it as now, she had stayed as far away from this place as possible, terrified of the sort of men and women that occupied it once the sun had hit the horizon, vanishing from sight.

  
  


Yet this night, she found herself moving inside the structure, moving past the many leering figures and to her own table at the furthest side of the room, preferring to stay in the dim light of a candle if anyone strayed to close to her.

  
  


Although her hood fell over her head and face, and her eyes rested on the chipped wood of the table, Ai could feel the eyes blazing into her, watching her. Somehow, she knew that most of the occupant's attention at the Cloak and Dagger was drawn to her.

  
  


~Why did I ever come in here?~ She found herself pondering, shutting her eyes tightly. She was about to stand abruptly and make haste out the door when a shadow passed across the table, and someone sat down across from her.

  
  


She froze.

  
  


"You look all-together like a newcomer here. I do hope your better conversation then some of these other...peasants!" 

  
  


Aini's hands shook underneath her clock, so she locked them together tightly, trying her best to keep her voice firm and her stutter straightened. The voice didn't sound at all threatening, rather somewhat cocky and annoying. 

  
  


But not dangerous, at least.

  
  


"That depends on what you want to talk about!"

  
  


Aini resisted the urge to pat herself on the back for how clear and firm her voice came out. She marvelled that she had managed to string a whole sentence in her situation without stuttering once.

  
  


With her newfound slight bravery, she found enough courage to look up to the face of the man talking to her.

  
  


When she looked up to him, they both appeared started.

  
  


Aini was started, because she recognized who was speaking to her, and felt an instant chill of fear run down her spine where she had previously thought she might get away with a fearless conversation.

  
  


Mechanicles.

  
  


The Greek's face was frozen in an expression of surprise, and Aini suddenly realized her error. Even in the dim candlelight, he could still see the un natural pallor of her face, the inhumanity of it.

  
  


She arose a lot quicker then she had though possible, and before Mechanicles could utter a word, she was half-way across the room, heading steadily for the exit.

  
  


"Hey....HEY STOP!" Mechanicles cried out suddenly, shaken from his stupor. But the girl, who looked no older then sixteen, was already out the door and in the street. In quick strides, Mechanicles found himself in the street, and just barely managed to catch a glimpse of a corner of a dark green cloak vanishing behind a street corner, and out of sight.

  
  


"STOP! WAIT!"

  
  


He ran after her then, not really sure of what he had seen, but positive that what he thought he had seen he had to make sure of.

  
  


The girl had been incredibly beautiful.

  
  


Her face had been the colour of the cleanest ivory, her eyes a liquid green that seemed to almost shine in the dimness of the Cloak and Dagger. Her voice, when she had spoken, had been light and glass-like, like that of a child. But behind it had been something more. Something hidden. A tone that suggested knowledge, and great suffering.

  
  


When he finally reached the street where he was sure she had vanished off to, he stopped abruptly, and looked around in shock.

  
  


It was a dead end, and yet she had vanished.

  
  


**********

  
  


From high above, Aini watched the figure below look around in surprise, and was unable to resist a small smile coming over her lips as she watched his shake his head, then turn and leave. 

  
  


~That'll teach you to run after me!~ She laughed to herself happily, glad she had been able to do what she had done.

  
  


She had flown.

  
  


Of course, she had done it completely nude, but that was besides the point. The cloak rested in her hands, and she quickly bent down out of sight, and cut it so that it was in three different sections. One was the top, which hugged around her breasts and fell slightly around her stomach, with a straps holding it around the shoulders and the back open for her wings. The hood was connected to it to hide her face.

  
  


The bottom she tore to make a long dress-like piece, which she scrunched up at the top to keep it from opening. The slit down the middle she moved so that it was at her side, making it look more like a long skirt then what had once been a cloak.

  
  


Satisfied, she ran off the side of the structure she had flown up to, and took to the sky.

  
  


Aini laughed as she flew. Despite her sorrow at her appearance, sure that she was now a monster, the feeling of flight, of the wing against her face, was too much to not be able to enjoy.

  
  


Once she was high above, she found herself heading for a direction she had previously not even thought she would ever go again. Yet her wings seemed to have developed a mind of their own at that moment as she flew, and she knew there would be no turning back.

  
  


She had learned at the Cloak and Dagger, that she couldn't stay hidden in the shadows forever.

  
  


So she flew, and the hours spun into each other.

  
  


Soon the dawn was just approaching, though the sun had not yet began to peek over the horizon in the far North.

  
  


Arbutus' Garden looked in the distance.

  
  


**********

  
  


Next, Aini is re-united with Arbutus, but their reunion doesn't go as she hoped.

And for a special extra, here is a picture of pre-dead, human-Aini: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php?id=35354


	11. How You Remind Me

**IF THERE BE THORNS**

**By Maggie Griffin**

  
**CHAPTER 11:  How You Remind Me**

************  **

It was only a matter of hours until day-break, and already Ai could see the flashes of crystalline light sweeping up from beneath the horizon, coming up only to face into the dark sky.

~I'm scared…so scared…~ she thought to herself as she flew, her wings catching the cooled wind in each feather, sending a small shiver through her now and again.

And she was indeed scared, even more so then the first time she had seen Arbutus, when she had been pulled into the sky and looked into his strange eyes, shaking in fright.  That memory no longer scared her as much as the prospect of what was to come.

~He won't accept me….not like this.  He won't want to be friends anymore…~

She veered down suddenly, and laded gently on the warming sand, still slightly cool from the cold desert night.  Sitting there, Aini drew her wings around her, examining the feathers.  She hadn't really taken the time to look at them closely, and only now noticed their tone, an almost transparent-white.  Each feather was wispy and looked like it was in danger of falling off at any moment.  As if both her wings were to simply break apart and fall to the sand.  Yet they stayed firmly attached.

"I c…can't do this!"  Aini stated suddenly, her eyes wide with realization.  "Oh Allah, I cannot do this."  She shut her eyes, and bit her lip until a jolt of pain made her whimper.  Taking her hand, she brought it to her mouth, coming away with droplets of blood.

~At least my blood still looks normal~ she tried to console herself with that thought, but failed miserably, the idea making her only more aware of what sort of visage she had become.

She began to pace in the sand, which ran between her toes, tickling her slightly.

"First of all, he thinks I'm dead!  Second of all, it's been a whole year….what if he doesn't even remember me?"  The idea made her freeze in her tracks.  "What…what if he doesn't even care that I came back…..," she trailed off, tears filling her eyes.

She looked back up at the sky, her eyes tracing the clouds she could see there.  Looking over the last remnants of the moon, which would soon vanish with the coming of morning.

~I could fly away~

Aini's brow furrowed with the possibility.

~I could fly and nobody would ever have to see me….I could go far away, somewhere where there are no people, nobody to look at me….~

But in an instant, the thought vanished and Ai shook her head violently.

"No!  I have to try….at least try!"

With that, she began to run through the sand, and taking a leap, lifted her small body off the ground and back up into the wind.  The thermals carried her upwards easily, catching her wings like wind under blankets.

Leading her back.

**********

It was the sudden silence that made Arbutus stop in his tracks.  He froze in place, his features twisting into an angry scowl.  Moments ago, the garden had been whispering as it always been.  The forlorn whispers had long ago replaced their childish laughter.

Yet now, there was only silence.

It had happened so quickly, and so abruptly, Arbutus could never have missed it.  It was as though someone had been screaming at the top of his lungs, and simply stopped.  No hesitation, no slowing tone.

Simply silence.

He turned from side to side, his eyes narrowed in concentration.  He turned his head upwards slightly, and closed his eyes to better know what was happening.  To reach out through his garden.

His will traveled through the plants, through the titanic trees, and over the dark grass.  And through all that life, he sensed something more.  Something different.  Something that set his blood to boil, and a low sound to erupt from his throat which would have scared Aini witless had she been around him.

But she wasn't, he reminded himself.

But someone else was.  Arbutus began to glide towards where he had sensed this life, his hands long turned to fists.  Someone else was, and that someone would pay with his or her life.

**********

Aini had touched down to the ground just a few feet away from the same familiar gates she had walked through a year ago, and had slowly walked up to them, nearly not recognizing them.

"What….happened?"  Her voice shook as she looked at the gates, then to the Garden that lay behind them.  The gates themselves were rusted, and looked as though they hadn't been opened for….

~…A year?~

Aini shivered.

Her hand reached out and genitivally touched the thick vines that roped around the bars of the gates, wondering if she would have to resort to flying over the gates and right into the Garden.  Somehow, the thought of screaming for Arbutus to come open the gates for her was less then thrilling.

Yet, when her hand touched the vines, they shrank away from the bars instantly, moving down to the ground and lying there motionless.  Aini looked at them for a moment, then her hand tightened around the bars, and she pushed the gate open.

It opened with a bit of difficulty, squeaking slightly as it did.  Aini actually had to lean against it slightly in order to push it open all the way.  Finally, it yielded to her efforts, and the stepped into the garden.

"What….what's happened?" Though her voice no longer trembled, now there was an edging fear in it.  For this was not the Garden she had left behind with her death.

~It looks more like a Garden of the Dead~ she shivered in discomfort.  The trees, which had once let through spirals of light from the sky, were so closely grouped together that almost no light reached the earth underneath them.  The grass was wild and un kept, dark against her feet with weeds growing amongst the blades.

There was one single thing that stood out the most that Ai noticed almost immediately.

"Where are the flowers?"  she murmured to herself, looking this way and that, eventually kneeling down to move the blades of grass gently with her fingers.  Her not a single flower, not even a humble dandelion, could see poking out from the growth around her.

There was also a feeling, as though the entire Garden were silently watching her, as if thousands of eyes were drawn to her at that moment, gazing over her every move.  Every step.

She folded her wings so that each was stretched on either side of her, looking ahead stubbornly, to not be distracted by the darkness and shadows around her.

Ai moved through the garden, until she finally came to a familiar place.  The gazebo stretched high in the sky, and Ai was happy to see that it was still there.  Yet, even it had changed noticeably.  The roof, from which one could have gazed up at the night sky from at one point, was completely wrapped in vines, with them falling in full circle around the sides of the gazebo.  It looked as though someone had draped a blanket over it.

Her hand reached up to grasp the railing, and Ai was about to start climbing the vine steps up to her favorite overlook when she felt a strong pressure at her ankle.  Before she even had enough time to look down and register the thick brown and green vine wrapped tight around her ankle, it yanked her away violently, and she fell against the floor with a sharp cry of pain.  Her wings bent under her body, she wiggled helplessly as the vines wrapped around her arms and legs, holding her nearly spread eagle and dragging her into the air, suspending her.

She tried to flap he wings, hoping the force of flight might rip her from the strength of her captors, but the vines seem to read her mind, and came around her wings, bending them together and making her shriek in pain as she heard one of the fine upper bones holding her wings together crack.

The searing pain ripped through her new muscles, coming together at her back and making her double over in the air, the shriek turning into a pained moaned.  Weakly, she looked behind her at her wings, seeing the damage done to them.

The upper half of her left wing was bent so badly it had broken, and now hung limply against the rest of her wing.  Blood had come to flow over the immaculate white feathers, the contrast incredibly sharp.  

The pain almost unbearable.  

Aini was amazed she was even able to keep herself conscious, certain that such immense pain would cause her to black out at any moment.  She hoped it would.

Yet as her head hung weakly against her chest, she opened her eyes weakly when she heard the familiar sound of robes moving over earth.

She no longer found enough strength in her to raise her head, yet Aini felt it was not necessary.  She knew who stood before her, and could already see the hatred in his eyes.

~I knew it….~ she thought to herself, her mind in jumbles through the pain in her back.

Aini winced as she felt a clawed hand come up and grasp her around the throat tightly, bring her face upwards until she was face-to-face with the one who had taken her captive so painfully.

Arbutus.

When she was finally looking into his face, Aini heard a weak whimper.  It took her a moment to realize it had come from her own lips, which trembled violently.

Arbutus had changed.

Though not physically, something in his manner was completely different.  His face, usually filled with life at the life he created, was dark.  His green and brown eyes had turned into a pair of equally black voids, and as Aini stared into them, she could see no spark that was often attributed with humane emotions.

Nothing.

It was as if Arbutus had molded with the rest of his Garden, moving into the darkness and changing into something Ai didn't recognize.

"And what might you be, Hm?  An angel, perhaps….," he leaned his head to the side slightly, examining the bloodied wings.  "A fallen angel?"

He shook his head suddenly, and Ai began to tremble violently as the vines shifted and wrapped around her chest and stomach.  The ones holding her wings loosened, and her wings fell lifelessly against her back.

"It doesn't matter now…I gave fair warning that no one….nothing, was to enter my home again.  You have broken that law.  For that, you will die!"  Arbutus voice was hollow and empty, but Ai could hear the seething anger beneath it.  Strangely, traces of sorrow as well.

"A….A…," she tried to speak, but her voice cracked with each attempt.

"Hm?"  Arbutus cocked an eyebrow, stepping closer to her.  "What is it now?  A last plead for mercy?  For life?  And who are you to make such a request of me?"

Aini opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, and a sound came from her lips, though Arbutus was unable to hear it clearly.  So he leaned his head towards her, his ear near her lips so they were side to side.

"Aini."

Arbutus froze.

For a moment, Ai wondered if he had heard her at all.

Yet suddenly, he drew back, and Aini yelped when she felt a stinging slap across her cheek, knowing it would be bruised later.

For a moment, she was stunned into silence by the unexpected action, then her head fell against her chest once more with a loud sob.

"You….You….How dare you take her name!"  Arbutus shook with fury unlike any he had ever felt, and prepared to hit the strange creature again, determined to make her pay for trespassing into his home, and tainting the name she had spoken.

Aini saw what he was about to do, her eyes widening in terror.

"A…A…ARBUTUS!"  She screamed, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Arbutus paused, his eyes narrowing.  Once more, the creature's head lolled into her chest, her pain too great.  Yet it wasn't that which stopped him from striking out once more.

~That voice….no…it's not her.  It can't be!  Aini….my Aini….is dead!~  With that thought set firmly into his stubborn thoughts, Arbutus' hand turned into a fist, and he stretched it out to hit her once more.

"Why did you kiss me when I was sleeping?"

The soft question made him cry out, his fist just barely missing her body and connecting instead with the air beside her.  Shivering, he drew back, his eyes wide.

"Nobody….nobody knew about that!  There was no way….," he trailed off, shaking his head, his hands coming up in front of him, as though he were shielding himself from some oncoming terror.  "How could you know?  How….?"

"I w…was awake!"  Aini spoke softly, her voice broken with pain and tears.  "I was awake!"

**********  

(Oooh, psycho Arbutus eh? **Lol**)  Next, Arbutus must decide if Aini truly as returned, while Aladdin finds out about the strange creature Mechanicles saw at the Cloak and Dagger.


	12. When Angels Weep

IF THERE BE THORNS

  
  


By Maggie Griffin

  
  
  
  


CHAPTER 12: When Angels Weep

  
  
  
  


********** 

  
  
  
  


Perhaps it was the endless silence that was most painful at that moment. The stretch of strained quiet. Yet, as Aini tried to move her wings, she knew that the pain that even then was sharply cutting through her upper back surpassed even that of the silence.

  
  
  
  


Even now, free of her bonds as she was; yet it didn't make lying on the cold earth any easier for her. Her wings were wrapped around her body once more; cocooning her and making her feel a tinge of comfort, even if it was just for that moment. The bloodied end of her one broken wing dangles helplessly in front of her face, and each time the breeze blew by, it swung back and forth, and droplets of her own blood came to coat the ground beneath her, and her own ivory white skin.

  
  
  
  


Arbutus stood a few feet away, his back turned to her. His shoulders were shaking in what looked like an unbelievable amount of rage. His hands were fists once more, but this time they didn't rise to strike her so much as hang limply at his sides.

  
  
  
  


Ai had remained silent for the last few minutes since Arbutus had moved his hand and ordered the vines that had been wrapped around her body to release her, causing her to fall limply and painfully to the ground.

  
  
  
  


Now, there she lay.

  
  
  
  


She opened her mouth, intent on addressing Arbutus, but after a moment, shut it once more. She had no idea what she was supposed to say to him. No idea how to quell the fury she could see building inside him, and to bring back that old friend from so long ago. Maybe even more back then. 

  
  
  
  


She had never known the intent of those kisses.

  
  
  
  


The one while she had supposedly slept, where moments later Arbutus had fled her side and vanished in the morning. The one the very next day, as she had similar to that moment, lain on the ground of the Garden, injured and bleeding.

  
  
  
  


Yet unlike then, Arbutus was not mending her wounds. He was not uttering sincere words of apology and stroking her hair. No sweet intentions followed the events that had just transpired. Only bitterness and hatred.

  
  
  
  


"A…Arbutus?"

  
  
  
  


The time had at least granted her enough control over her own voice, her panicked stutter not really vanishing, but at least relaxing slightly for the moment.

  
  
  
  


"Arbutus…Please, t..t..talk to me!" her voice was soft and pleading, the voice of an injured child on the brink of tears. Aini feared that it was probably the case. She feared that whatever he would say to her would simply result in her bursting out crying. But she had shed so many tears already; she didn't really take to the idea.

  
  
  
  


She waited another moment, and when only the same horrible silence met her ears, she collected herself off the floor with a pained cry, standing shakily.

  
  
  
  


She stood facing his back now, her wings and back trembling from her wounds and from the pain inside of her, which didn't just limit to her body.

  
  
  
  


"Please…" she whimpered, on the verge of completely breaking down.

  
  
  
  


When silence met her for the last time, Aini felt her resolve explode inside her, and with it, a fresh stream of tears coated her cheeks.

  
  
  
  


"FINE! I GUESS I WAS R..R…RIGHT! YOU NEVER DID WANT ME!" She sobbed suddenly, her voice broken, as was her body. Turning sharply, which caused her to emit a pained moan, she moved away from Arbutus, determined to leave the Garden and escape to somewhere she would never have to face anyone again.

  
  
  
  


~Damn you Chaos! For bringing me back, and for doing this to me….~

  
  
  
  


"AINI!"

  
  
  
  


The pained scream brought her to a dead stop, and she turned back to Arbutus in confusion, only to cry out in shock as he was mere inches away from her, and threw himself at her feet, his willowy arms coming to snake around her waist tightly.

  
  
  
  


Aini stood perfectly still, her body rigid as stone.

  
  
  
  


Arbutus had come to lean his head against her naked stomach, and Aini nearly yelped when she felt his lips touch against the skin softly.

  
  
  
  


His shoulders continued to quake violently, and yet as Aini drew her eyes over his face, she suddenly realized that it had not been the rage in Arbutus that had made his shiver so. For even then, she could plainly see the tears on his lean face, and feel them wetting her flesh. His sobs intensified so much she could hear them clearly now, and gasped as she realized that he had been weeping all along.

  
  
  
  


After another moment, Ai lifted her arms and placed then delicately around Arbutus' neck, holding him steady as he continued to weep.

  
  
  
  


Weep for the dead.

  
  
  
  


**********

  
  
  
  


It was no surprise that news of the strange creature seen fleeing the Cloak and Dagger soon reached Aladdin's ears.

  
  
  
  


Mechanicles had come back to the tavern, telling as many people as were willing to hear him out without cutting his throat. Telling them about the girl he had seen. About how she had vanished from a dead end alley into the night, like some strange enigma.

  
  
  
  


So the news traveled from cut-throat to thief, blending into the night until by morning, it had reached the ears of Arabian civilians, who whispered the tale to each other as though whispering of some strange ghost.

  
  
  
  


It was no surprise that while out with Carpet and Abu late in that very morning, he had heard a shopkeeper mentioning the tale of the beautiful phantom girl, who had lured a man into the darkness to follow her, leading him on a chase and then vanishing with the coming of dawn.

  
  
  
  


So he had stopped Carpet, and swooped down to hear the rest of that strange story. At first, he had been ready to dismiss it as another fairy tale, but when he had heard that the story had begun with Mechanicles, Aladdin had become rather interested. He knew Mechanicles was a maniac, not to mention a complete clear-freak, but he had never thought the Greek to be a flat-out liar. Figmenting some strange phantom from his own mind didn't seem his style.

  
  
  
  


Then again, the possibility that Mechanicles had finally snapped enough to start hallucinating didn't escape his thoughts either.

  
  
  
  


So that was what found Aladdin at the Cloak and Dagger, watching his back with caution as he made his way to the back of the tavern, knowing there were dozens of leering eyes at his back, all-too eager to slit his throat.

  
  
  
  


He found who he was looking for, huddled in a corner, drinking mint tea.

  
  
  
  


"Morning Mechanicles!"

  
  
  
  


The Greek had enough time to register the voice before it finally sunk in and he sputtered his tea, knocking over the white cup.

  
  
  
  


"What do you want?" Mechanicles demanded when he had managed to collect himself enough to get over the fact his arch-nemesis was sitting across from him.

  
  
  
  


"Just some information Mechanicles!" Aladdin spoke, trying to sound friendly, though he knew it was too no avail. "A bit about that girl you've been telling everyone about…that ghost, as I've heard!"

  
  
  
  


Mechanicles sneered. "And what makes you think I'm willing to share anything I know with the likes of you?"

  
  
  
  


Aladdin shrugged. "Well, I guess you really are as crazy as their saying!" He smiled, then prepared to leave the table.

  
  
  
  


"Wait!" Mechanicles interrupted, just as Aladdin had known he would. "I'm not crazy!" The Greek muttered with distaste, then turned his sharp eyes to the younger man before him. "And it was no ghost, much as some of these street scum seemed to have invented it to be."

  
  
  
  


"So what did you see?" Aladdin asked, prodding him further.

  
  
  
  


Mechanicles paused, and his face seemed to suddenly be overcome with emotion, though it was unlike any Aladdin had ever seen him weaken to, as he seemed to be at that moment.

  
  
  
  


"Well?" He demanded of the inventor.

  
  
  
  


"It was a girl!" Mechanicles sneered suddenly, then his face softened as he recalled her further. "She was young…beautiful…" he trailed off with a reminiscing sight, as though he were still dwelling in the moment of the previous evening.

  
  
  
  


"Well, you never struck me as someone who would go for young girls Mechanicles!" Aladdin smirked, obviously enjoying poking at the villain, who looked up at him with a horrified expression.

  
  
  
  


"I'll have you know boy, that this was no ordinary girl!" He growled, his voice clouding with anger. "She was an angel…. her skin was so white…" he shook his head, closing his eyes tightly then opening them again.

  
  
  
  


"So what? So maybe she's from another kingdom," Aladdin shrugged, not seeing the big deal.

  
  
  
  


"You don't understand, you simpleton!" Mechanicles laughed bitterly. "This was no ordinary pallor. It reminded me of the same ivory white tone used in the pillars of Greece, where they sometimes erected statues of the Gods. Why, I once recall setting my eyes on the sight of Aphrodite, made of the same sort of beautiful stone, as was the exact tone of this girl's skin!" He sighed dreamily once more.

  
  
  
  


Aladdin rolled his eyes at Mechanicles' dramatics, yet he could see what the Greek was talking about. Skin of that sort of pallor was abnormal, but many things in Agrabah were as well.

  
  
  
  


"But her eyes…. Gods those eyes…" Mechanicles trailed off until his voice was no longer audible.

  
  
  
  


For some reason, the reference to the strange girl's eyes drew Aladdin's attention. He wasn't sure why that was, but something about it made him take notice.

  
  
  
  


"What about her eyes?" He asked, now clearly interested.

  
  
  
  


Mechanicles sighed. "They were the most loveliest of green! Like that of the purest of Peridot!" He spoke, his own eyes narrowing dreamily.

  
  
  
  


For some reason, Aladdin felt a violent shiver go through him at that moment.

  
  
  
  


"Tell me more about her!" He demanded. "Every little thing you can remember!"

  
  
  
  


For some reason, he had a feeling it may have been a ghost Mechanicles had encountered after all.

  
  
  
  


**********

  
  
  
  


Next, Arbutus tries to cope with having Aini back so unexpectedly, while Aladdin learn the truth behind the so-called ghost.

  
  
  
  


Also, here is another extra for you readers ^^ Here is a pic of Aini after her transformation: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php?id=87937


	13. Root of Discovery

IF THERE BE THORNS

  
  


By Maggie Griffin

  
  
  
  


CHAPTER 13: Root of Discovery

  
  
  
  


********** 

  
  
  
  


Aladdin found himself seated in the throne room with the coming of the evening. Through the large windows off to one side, he could see the first outlines of the moon that would soon rule the sky until the first rays of the sun chased it back into invisibility. He sat with his back leaning against the Sultan's throne, his hands lying limply at his sides, brushing the floor.

  
  
  
  


His mind was on the events of the day, particularly his conversation with Mechanicles at the Cloak and Dagger. At first, he had paid little heed to the inventor's words, but with the mention of the spirit girl's eyes something inside of him had snapped to attention. He hadn't been sure of exactly what it was that had first grabbed him about it, but as Mechanicles had continued talking, describing the girl to the last perfect detail, Aladdin had felt a creeping sense of dread. A dread that came in like a chill at his back.

  
  
  
  


Not, sitting limply on the floor, he knew what it was that had shocked him so.

  
  
  
  


Mechanicles had provided an accurate description. The pallor of the girl's skin, the colour of her eyes, down to the hair he could see peeking out from under the cloak she had been wearing. A dark green cloak.

  
  
  
  


Just like the one Aini had worn.

  
  
  
  


The girl, whoever she was, had been a down to the last detail perfect description of their dead friend.

  
  
  
  


~Maybe she's a lost soul~ He thought to himself.

  
  
  
  


It was a possibility. He knew that at one point, Iago had raved about a dimension between life and death, where wandering souls stuck in limbo were often trapped, hunted down by an apparition, forever running among those alive, but always alone.

  
  
  
  


"What if that's happened to her?" He asked himself aloud. 

  
  
  
  


"What if what happened to who?"

  
  
  
  


Turning, Aladdin saw that Genie had entered the throne room, floating himself over next to him. The Genie rested next to Aladdin, and glanced over towards him.

  
  
  
  


"Hey Al, who were you talking about?"

  
  
  
  


Aladdin paused, wondering if it was wise to tell Genie what he suspected. He knew that Genie had been one of those that had taken Aini's death the worst. Next to Sadira, or Abutus. Arbutus had probably taken it worst. Even a year later, the haunting threat, as well as the dangerous tone in his voice stayed firmly in Aladdin's memories.

  
  
  
  


Yet the idea that Aini had indeed become some wandering ghost was more then slightly disturbing. But it was also extremely possible. 

  
  
  
  


~She died a violent death, didn't she? That counts as a good reason for souls that don't find rest...~ Aladdin thought, his eyes narrowing

  
  
  
  


"Al?" Genie prodded, now obvious to the fact that something was troubling the younger man.

  
  
  
  


Aladdin looked at Genie, his emotions obviously present on his face as Genie scowled as he saw.

  
  
  
  


"I gotta talk to you about something Genie…"

  
  
  
  


***********

  
  
  
  


If the night in the Garden had ever frightened Aini more, if was surely at that moment. The Garden had been mysterious and dark by nature, and now, when the bitterness of loss had eaten it away, the night only multiplied on the dread that a person could feel once inside of it.

  
  
  
  


A place of happiness had turned into a place of shadows, and as Aini found herself amongst it, she couldn't shake the feelings of fear.

  
  
  
  


"Ai…?"

  
  
  
  


Aini looked down, stroking Arbutus' cheek lightly with her hand. He had lain down with her high above the garden, in the gazebo in the sky. Now, his head rested on her lap, his arm wrapped around her waist possessively.

  
  
  
  


As she looked down at him, his own eyes met hers and he stared up at her, unblinking in the darkness.

  
  
  
  


"Hm?" She smiled gently, her own arms wound gently around his neck.

  
  
  
  


"Is it really you? Because…I can pretend it is, even if it isn't…" he trailed off, his voice quivering slightly.

  
  
  
  


A pained expression crossed her face for a moment, but Ai leaned down, pressing her cheek against Arbutus'.

  
  
  
  


"It's me….really me….," she trailed off as the blanket of vines covering the gazebo blocked out the final traces of moonlight. Leaning on her shoulder so she didn't end up lying on her injured wing, Aini felt sleep tug at her mercilessly, and finally let it take her for the night.

  
  
  
  


**********

  
  
  
  


The next morning found Aini leaning up against the bottom of the gazebo, her hand making small scratches in the tree's bark as she leaned her body into it with a pained moan.

  
  
  
  


"Sorry….I'm sorry!" Arbutus stammered, loosening his hold on her injured wing slightly, the same burning liquid flowing from the plant he held in his hands. "…so sorry…," he murmured softly, shutting his eyes for a moment before he opened them and dared continue.

  
  
  
  


"D…Don't worry!" Aini whimpered, regardless of the searing pain the liquid created as it mixed into her wound.

  
  
  
  


Arbutus remained silent, his hands working at her wing, pressing the plant against it with the utmost gentleness he could manage, his other hand grasped the underside of her injured wing, which he held up against the broken bone. He reached to the side, bringing up a durable and wide lead, the inside slightly furred. Taking a few finer vines, he used them to hold the lead in place over the broken tip of the wing, holding the liquid in place as well. He tied it gently, careful to not put too much pressure on it.

  
  
  
  


"Better?"

  
  
  
  


Aini nodded, tough the pain really had only gotten a bit worst with the burning liquid, but she knew telling Arbutus that would only succeed in worrying him, so she said nothing.

  
  
  
  


"Ai…," he started suddenly, his voice strained.

  
  
  
  


Aini turned her eyes up at him. "Yes?"

  
  
  
  


Arbutus took a deep breath, straightening himself to his full height, towering over her as she lay propped up against the bark of the Gazebo tree. "It's…I….Thank you for saving me, that time…," he trailed off, feeling like a complete idiot for such a lame phrase.

  
  
  
  


Aini smiled never the less.

  
  
  
  


**********

  
  
  
  


Next, Aini and Arbutus start to re-establish what they once had, while her old friends begin to suspect something very amiss.


	14. The Rebirth

****

IF THERE BE THORNS

****

By Maggie Griffin

****

CHAPTER 14: The Rebirth

**************

When Jasmine arrived in the throne room, Genie was sitting next to Aladdin at the base of the throne. His blue skin looked even more pale then usual, and his eyes stared ahead hauntingly, his mouth a thin slit on his face.

"Genie? What's happened?" Jasmine asked, immediately noticing the uncomfortable distressed looked on his face. "You look like someone died!"

"Not exactly Jas…," Aladdin murmured, his face thoughtful and concerned. "But something like that."

Genie arose then, floating slowly into the air. Without another word, he floated right out of the room, hunched over; his face frozen in a look that crossed between dismay and shock. Even Jasmine's voice calling to him in worry didn't bring him back as he floated off into the courtyard and vanished behind some trees.

"Alright, what's happened? What's the matter with both of you?" Jasmine demanded, more then a little nervous of Genie's behaviour. Not to mention the unsettling look on Aladdin's face.

Aladdin sighed, and finally arose from the floor. "Come on Jasmine, we have something we have to talk about," he said to her, leading her gently by the arm to her room. "We have to get everyone else together too, they'll want to know!"

With that, he led a very confused Jasmine to her room, closing the door behind them softly.

***************

"You haven't told me…," Ai started, but bit her lip quickly.

"What?"

"What happened here, and to you…."

The next short while was an uncomfortable one as silence once more made its way into the conversation. Nothing was said for a while, until finally Arbutus spoke once more, though his voice was barely audible.

"You died."

More silence followed, though this time it was far more welcoming. The soft statement continued to hang in the air, and even with no words being said, there was still discomfort there.

"Everything….everything died afterward, it went dark first….I couldn't stop it, the trees enveloped out the sun, and it was dark," he spoke once more, and each word filled Aini with a small tinge of both sorrow and fear. As though the happy place she had once learned to live in and love had become one of death and sadness. Where the darkness took the place of sunlight. Arbutus shook his head suddenly, bringing his hand to his brow. "But nevermind…what happened to you?" He motioned to her wings, and Ai had no doubt that wasn't the only changes he had noticed. "You look…different!"

Aini laughed suddenly, and the sound brought an instant smile to Arbutus' face. When Aini saw it, she couldn't help but smile more, so relieved to find there was still traces of the past to be found.

"Chaos did it. I think I was dead….," she paused for a moment as she saw Arbutus shift in discomfort, but put a gentle hand on his arm. "I remember, only white everywhere, and like I was floating…then I was back, and he was there, and I looked…," she motioned to herself, "…like this!"

Tears suddenly filled her eyes, and when the loud sob escaped her lips Arbutus jumped, immediately thinking he had somehow hurt her once more. Yet she only sank to the floor, and began to cry folding her good wing over herself and letting the broken one hang limply against her side. She continued to cry like this, until it became unsettling and Arbutus succumbed to kneeling down beside her.

"My flower…what's the matter?" He asked softly, patting her head. "Does it hurt so much?" He winced suddenly, realizing that she was probably in a lot more pain then she let on. 

After a stifled sob, Aini raised her tear-streaked face weakly and shook her head from side to side. "N..No…I…"

"What is it?"

Another sob escaped her, "_He made me a monster!"_ She cried.

Arbutus blinked, startled by the sudden outburst. "What?"

"L…l…look at me, I'm not….," she stopped, interrupted by another wave of sobs.

Arbutus didn't hesitate or think as he simply wrapped his willowy arms around her, touching his own forehead to hers lightly. After a moment, his hands came up and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Foolish girl…" He murmured softly, stroking her face to calm her crying. "You are no monster!"

"B..But…"

He cut her off this time, reacting more on instinct then anything else. His lips found hers, silencing whatever she had been about to say. Aini's eyes widened, though she didn't pull away. At first, she stayed still, not reacting at all to the sensation but affected never the less.

Arbutus' kiss was different then she would have thought. She had to admit with a twinge of guilt that she had thought about kissing him long before he had kissed her that time while she had slept. In fact, for the longest time she had believed she had dreamed that moment, something that had apparently been real.

The kiss itself was warm, and surprisingly soft. Aini had always thought it would somehow feel…different. After all, Arbutus was….well technically sort of tree-like. His face looked somewhat like the texture and colour of a tree bark. Yet to the touch, it didn't feel as it would be expected to.

She succumbed after another moment, deepening the kiss to a newer level between them. Arbutus didn't try to protest, instead wrapping his arms around her waist tightly. 

__

"Ai…" He murmered softly against her mouth, his tone husky and tight. When she raised her eyes to meet his, she found the spark she had missed before, and wondered briefly how it could have ever been gone. The light was so bright now, as though a fire had begun behind his sight, one that was nowhere near stopping.

Even as they lay slowly down against the thick bark of a large oak, nothing slowed. Even as sensations intestified and touch became more and more insistent, as though letting go now would only cause further darkness.

And all around them, there began a whispering. Where there had been silence, voices began to chatter in hushed, merry tones. And laughter bounced off the wind as the sun hit downward and touched the earth. Slowly, the Garden began to fill with light.

***************

Next, Aladdin and co are shocked when they run into Aini in a most unconventional way, Sadira refuses to leave Ai with Arbutus.


	15. Deliver Me

**IF THERE BE THORNS**

**By: **Maggie Griffin****

**CHAPTER 15: Deliver Me  
  
**

* * *

Aini stirred. She couldn't remember the last time she had ever felt as warm as she did at that moment. The streets had always been cold, the stones of the earth making her tremble. Even the bed that Jasmine had made out for her so long ago, though comfortable, had not felt as good.

There were arms around, slim but strong in their hold, coming around her bare shoulders to rest gently on the small of her back. Soft breathing caused her to rise and fall with each breath, resting against Arbutus. Her own arms were linked lightly around his neck, as if afraid that once she awoke, she would be alone.

She looked up at him, studying him with an ease she hadn't experienced before. His eyes were closed, but Ai knew he wasn't sleeping. The lightest of smiles tugged at the corner of his lips, making her smile as well.

The events of the day came back to her. But she pushed the pain back in favor of the joy she felt now. His whispered words of love, his kisses, his hands on her cheek, in her hair. They had talked of nothing that would bring pain, speaking only loving words.

The garden was so bright.

The sun had beaten its way through the foliage, and now illuminated the garden stronger then it ever had before. Even now, with dusk approaching, it still shone golden. The plants and flowers were blooming, and had filled the air with such sweet fragrance that Aini had felt her spirits lifted completely.

_He loves me…_ She couldn't resist her smile getting wider, and even after the closeness they shared, she still felt her face flush at the thought of it. _He really loves me._

Her wing had healed considerably well in the short span of time that had passed. It no longer hung limply, and the leaf Arbutus had tied on had fallen off at some point while she had slept. There was still a small amount of cracking on the bone itself, but it was repairing itself very nicely thanks to the ointment Arbutus had applied. Ai tried giving it a little flap, but winced when she still felt a dull sting, resigning herself to waiting a bit longer before trying again.

It was wonderful, yet strange, being back. It didn't feel as though she had been gone for a whole year, and yet she was filled with that sensation of not seeing a place she had known for a very long time. That delightful déjà vu of returning to familiarity after being away for so long. She was itching to take a look around again.

Slowly, she rose up into a more comfortable position, and was about to stand when she felt a hand snake up around her waist and tighten slightly. Still blushing, she looked down at Arbutus, who was smiling back at her gently. His eyes travelled over her face, her hair, coming to look into her eyes.

"Going somewhere?" He smiled, laughter in his eyes.

"I w..was going to t..take a walk," she couldn't stop the stuttering, though it was for utterly different reasons then previously. Now, her nervousness stemmed from the natural delightful anxiety that came from a newfound love. The butterflies in her stomach, as it were.

Arbutus rose back to his full height, casting Aini in shadow momentarily before moving to take her hand, leading her through the garden.

At points through their walk, he would pause, and Aini found herself kissed more that night then ever in her life. Not that she had been kissed all that many times in the past. She had been too alone, too afraid to even try to be close to anyone. Now, feeling as loved as she did, Ai felt herself almost craving the kisses, though too shy to initiate any by herself just yet.

When they arrived where Arbutus had been leading them, Aini let out a small gasp of surprise. The gazebo in the sky had regained its previous beauty, and she all but dragged the Earth Element up the stairs leading to it.

Déjà vu once again, standing in front of the railing. The garden bloomed beautifully in all directions, and it seemed so vast that Ai imagined it to be the whole world.

_What a beautiful world that would be,_ She smiled.

She stood very still, entranced by the sight of it all until she felt a hand settle atop hers. Looking up, she saw Arbutus was looking towards the distance as well, though he seemed lost in his own thoughts.

"Can you ever forgive me?"

Aini blinked, a bit confused. "What for?"

He looked at her then, an incredulous look on her face. "I let the darkness into this place. I think I killed myself…"

There was a moment of silence then, and Aini felt her eyes filling with tears. She understood, even with her naïve sense of understanding, she knew what he meant. He couldn't die naturally. Not forever, as humans could. As she would have, someday. But there was another sort of death for him, another sort of stasis suicide, and that was what had happened.

"I think…I think I may have blamed you, somehow." He winced, a shamed expression on his face. "You see, when Jasmine betrayed me, the pain was not as…bleak. I had no faith in humans at that time, so while her betrayal was painful, it was not a surprise…" he paused, unsure of wether or not he should continue. Aini waited. "…meeting you. Getting to know _you_, proved there was a side of humanity I had somehow missed. It was as if by knowing you, I could be betrayed by others a thousand times over, but still remain with the knowledge that there were good heart's left in the world."

Aini smiled, drawing closer to rest against his arms, her small hands holding the cloth of his robes lightly.

"Then you died…" he paused again. "…and I felt as though I had been lied to all along…"

Aini's grip tightened, and Arbutus realized he had said the wrong thing. Her shoulders had begun to shake slightly, and he knew without looking at her face that she was crying. Not out of self-pity, or anger, or a feeling of being betrayed. But out of guilt.

"I'm so sorry." They spoke simultaneously.

"I'm s..sorry. I'm so sorry. I…I never m..meant it like that. N..never," she stopped, letting the sobs and shivers subside before going on. "Maybe it w..would have been better if…if…" she didn't finish, looking down at the railing as though there was something very fascinating about it.

"Wait." He interrupted before she could finish. Ai looked up at him, her eyes a bit red from crying. Arbutus felt sick inside, but knew it was best he told her and was done with it. She deserved to know. "My flower, you misunderstood me! I said I had killed myself in a way, by allowing the darkness in. That darkness was rage. I needed to reassure myself that all the anger I felt, all the hatred for Aladdin and Jasmine, was somehow justified. What better way could I have done that then by blaming the dead, if your final act had prevented me from striking out against the living."

"S..So you don't hate me?"

Arbutus shot her a wry look. "I hated Aladdin once…when was the last time I told him I loved him?" It got a small giggle out of her, and Aini felt her sorrow subside considerably. "The only sure cure for guilt, is forgiveness." Arbutus spoke gently. "So, can you ever forgive me?"

Aini reached up shyly, bringing his face to hers and touching his lips with hers. The kiss was slow and hesitant, and in the midst of the happy haze she was in, Aini felt a surge of pride at having been bold enough to kiss him. Silly as it was, she was proud of herself.

"I won't," she murmured against his lips. "Because there's nothing to forgive." She rested her head against his chest. "We were both lost for a while."

"But now…" he smiled.

"Now we'll be okay, won't we?"

His arms tightened around her, answering her question.

* * *

It was amazing how quickly strange news spread through Agrabah. Particularly when started by someone as eccentric as Mechanicles. The Greek had wasted no time in relaying what he had seen within the Cloak and Dagger to the other denizens, not leaving out the fact that Aladdin had seemed particularly interested.

"Why was he so bent on knowing about it?" Abis Mal wiped the corner of his mouth. He lifted the mug containing some unknown liquid Mechanicles would never have touched to his lips, taking another swig. The inventor frowned in disdain, noticing the rather intoxicated look on the other man's face.

"I'm not completely sure, but it seemed important. He was rather…insistent that I tell him all I saw," he adjusted his tunic, still convinced that the creases caused by Aladdin's manhandling would never come out. "Wretched boy. What interest could she have in the like's of you," he muttered under his breath.

"So…was she pretty?" Abis Mal grinned lecherously.

Mechanicles resisted the urge to sneer. "She was out of your league."

"Hmph, what do you know about who's in my league and who isn't!?" Abis Mal demanded.

"Mostly that no woman alive is within your league," Mechanicles grinned cruelly. "You are…one of a kind, by all means!"

"Why, thank you!" Abis Mal replied, seemingly oblivious that he had been insulted.

Mechanicles rolled his eyes, not bothering to correct him. Instead, he concentrated on finishing his tea.

"What else did you hear old man?"

Mechanicles looked up at the presence of a new voice, his eyes widening as he did so with fear. He lowered his cup slowly, pursing his lips.

Mozenrath was now seated across from him, where Abis Mal had sat seconds ago. But of the drunkard there was neither hair nor tail.

"Could you not assume a more eye-pleasing image?" Mechanicles managed to sneer, despite the fear at having the powerful dark wizard sitting right across from him. He without any of his machines or weapons.

"Like this perhaps?" The young man grinned, his eyes narrowing as his form changed once again.

"That is no improvement!" Mechanicles replied with considerable bitterness.

Aladdin now sat across from him, though the look in his eyes told Mechanicles that the damage this particular Aladdin could do to him was far worst then the slight mishandling he had suffered at the hands of the streetrat hours before.

"Answer my question inventor, before I turn you into insect food!"

Mechanicles tensed, then let out the breath he had been holding. "All I've said is all I know…except…"

"What?" The sorcerer demanded.

"The sand witch, the one who lives in the temple in the desert…"

"-I know of her, what is your point?"

"There is a rumor, that someone heard the streetrat mention her when it came to this girl-creature. She…may know what this is all about."

Mozenrath said nothing else, rising from his seat and striding out of the Cloak and Dagger without so much as a backwards glance. Mechanicles slumped against the seat, breaking his normally perfect poise in favor of releasing the iron-grip rattle on his nerves.

He didn't finish his tea that night.

* * *

Despite her grown power. Despite her expanded knowledge, and matured personality, Sadira failed to see through Mozenrath's disguise.

"It still hurts, you know," She spoke, her back to him. The book before her was one she had memorized, but had felt like reading all the same. "Not as bad as before, but there's still that sting, once in a while."

"I know…" He didn't, but knew it was what she wanted to hear.

"Do you ever think about her?" She asked, turning around to look at him.

"Of course."

Empty words, but they worked none the less. He wanted to know what it was that Aladdin was so intent upon knowing about. Whatever it was, Mozenrath was willing to bet it would be worth a good deal to his adversary. Something that he could easily bait a trap with.

"I know you think she's back Aladdin. I know. Jasmine thinks so too, and Genie. Even Iago thinks that maybe her ghost is somehow trapped here…" Sadira trailed off.

"And you? What do you think?" Mozenrath asked, false compassion painting his voice.

"I think…that I don't want to know. I think she's dead, and raising any hope that it's not true will only make it worst when we see what you saw wasn't…what you thought it was," she spoke, a pained expression on her face.

"But what if it was?"

He was playing the part perfectly. The look, the voice. Mozenrath felt especially proud of his illusion. If it came down to it, he was even able to fool Aladdin's closest friends. But he knew his illusions would never fool Aladdin himself, or his Genie for that matter, who could see through false images. That is why he needed something tangible to hold against the streetrat.

"It's better not to hope. Besides, you remember what Arbutus said. Even if it was a year ago, I have a feeling that if we set foot into the Garden, his threat would still stand!"

Mozenrath had what he needed.

* * *

"Was it very painful?"

"Only for a second, and then it just got all dark…"

Arbutus held her closer.

"I missed you so much." He murmured into her hair, his hands running through it slowly.

"Can I tell you about it?" She asked timidly. "I really want to tell someone."

"Of course."

She spoke then, the bits and pieces she could remember. The endless white, the brightness, the lack of knowing who she was, what she was. The lack of knowing of the simplest emotions, of her own humanity. It was wondrous and terrifying at the same time, and Arbutus wondered if such a fate awaited all those who died. It seemed bleak, and frightening.

"Were you very afraid?" He asked when she was finished.

Aini shook her head. "I didn't know what fear was. I didn't know any emotions, only of _being_. It was scary, now that I think about it. But it wasn't when I was there."

"Did…you remember me?"

Aini looked down at her feet with a sad frown, not saying anything. Arbutus reached up, lifting her chin so she looked back at him. "It's alright. It doesn't matter. You came back, and that's all I care about."

"I love you." She breathed, realizing that this was the first time she had said it, and felt her face flush once more. "I love you Arbutus." She repeated, her voice a bit stronger.

He smiled, his eyes mirroring the feelings in hers.

They held each other, looking out towards the setting sun.

* * *

Next, Mozenrath initiates his plan, while Aini decides to return to Agrabah. 


End file.
